Etymograph

English

glair

Glair comes from Old French glaire ‘egg white’, from Latin clārus ‘clear’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- ‘to call, shout’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kelh₁-1‘to call, shout’by way of Proto-Indo-European *kl̥h₁rós, Proto-Italic *klārosreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclārus2‘clear’
  3. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*clāria2reconstructedsubstantive use of clārus
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400glaire2‘egg white’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500glaire2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1962glair2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin clarus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English glair
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1962, The Fishing Gazette: “Some rain fell during the past few days but…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kelh₁-Wiktionary, Latin clarus‘to call, shout’by way of Proto-Indo-European *kl̥h₁rós, Proto-Italic *klārosreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclārusWiktionary, English glair‘clear’
  3. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*clāriaWiktionary, English glairreconstructedsubstantive use of clārus
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400glaireWiktionary, English glair‘egg white’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500glaireWiktionary, English glair
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1962glairWiktionary, English glair. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1962, The Fishing Gazette: “Some rain fell during the past few days but…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- ‘to call, shout’

low, hell, classic, claim, calendar, haul, reconciliation, reconcile, proclamation, classify, reclamation, exclamation, squeal, irreconcilable, clamour, clamor, ecclesiastic, ecclesial, conciliar, clas, 35 more

through Latin clārus ‘clear’

clear, declare, clarity, clarification, claire, clarinet, clarion, claret, 10 more

Today it means

noun Egg white, especially as used in various industrial preparations.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “glair”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin clarus. 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 *kelh₁- / glair

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