Etymograph

English

clothe

Clothe comes from Middle English clothen ‘to clothe’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *gley- ‘to adhere to, stick’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gley-1‘to adhere to, stick’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*klaiþōną1‘to clothe’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150*clāþian1‘to clothe’reconstructed
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500clothen1‘to clothe’
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1590-92clothe1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English clothe
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1590-92, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew: “Go with me to clothe you as becomes you.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gley-Wiktionary, English clothe‘to adhere to, stick’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*klaiþōnąWiktionary, English clothe‘to clothe’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150*clāþianWiktionary, English clothe‘to clothe’reconstructed
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500clothenWiktionary, English clothe‘to clothe’
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1590-92clotheWiktionary, English clothe. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1590-92, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew: “Go with me to clothe you as becomes you.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gley- ‘to adhere to, stick’

climb, clam, clench, glia, 5 more

through Middle English clothen ‘to clothe’

clad

Today it means

verb To adorn or cover with clothing; to dress; to supply clothes or clothing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “clothe”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gley- / clothe

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