Etymograph

English

klutz

Klutz comes from Yiddish קלאָץ ‘wooden beam’, from Middle High German kloz ‘stump’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gel- ‘to ball up’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gel-1‘to ball up’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kluttaz1reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*klott2‘clod, lump, ball’reconstructed
  4. Old High Germanc. 750–1050kloz2‘stump’
  5. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350kloz2‘stump’
  6. Yiddishmodernקלאָץ3‘wooden beam’literally ‘wooden beam’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1979klutz3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *klott
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Yiddish קלאָץ
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English klutz
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1979, Monty Python's Life of Brian: “Well, that's all right, then, Brian. Sit down. Have…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gel-Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *klott‘to ball up’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kluttazWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *klottreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*klottWiktionary, Yiddish קלאָץ‘clod, lump, ball’reconstructed
  4. Old High Germanc. 750–1050klozWiktionary, Yiddish קלאָץ‘stump’
  5. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350klozWiktionary, Yiddish קלאָץ‘stump’
  6. YiddishmodernקלאָץWiktionary, English klutz‘wooden beam’literally ‘wooden beam’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1979klutzWiktionary, English klutz. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1979, Monty Python's Life of Brian: “Well, that's all right, then, Brian. Sit down. Have…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gel- ‘to ball up’

children, child, cold, clean, cloud, globe, chill, gel, jelly, cluster, colt, gelatin, clout, clough, gelato, glebe, ganglion, globus, globulin, 48 more

through Proto-West Germanic *klott ‘clod, lump, ball’

clot, clod, 1 more

Today it means

noun A clumsy or stupid person.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “klutz”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-West Germanic *klott, Yiddish קלאָץ. 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 *gel- / klutz

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