English
sluice
Sluice comes from Anglo-Norman escluse ‘sluice, floodgate’, from Late Latin exclusa ‘extrusion, gate’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w- ‘to close something’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kleh₂w-1‘to close something’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*klaudō1‘to close’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclaudō1‘shut, end’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexclūdō2‘to shut out, to exclude’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexclūsus2‘excluded’form of exclūdō
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEexclusa2‘extrusion, gate’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400escluse2‘sluice, floodgate’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sluse2
- Englishearliest quotation 1595sluice2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin excludo
- 2 Wiktionary, English sluice
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1595, The Life and Death of King Richard the Second: “[…] he did plot the Duke of Gloucester's death,…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kleh₂w-Wiktionary, Latin excludo‘to close something’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*klaudōWiktionary, Latin excludo‘to close’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclaudōWiktionary, Latin excludo‘shut, end’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexclūdōWiktionary, English sluice‘to shut out, to exclude’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexclūsusWiktionary, English sluice‘excluded’form of exclūdō
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEexclusaWiktionary, English sluice‘extrusion, gate’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400escluseWiktionary, English sluice‘sluice, floodgate’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sluseWiktionary, English sluice
- Englishearliest quotation 1595sluiceWiktionary, English sluice. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1595, The Life and Death of King Richard the Second: “[…] he did plot the Duke of Gloucester's death,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w- ‘to close something’
include, cataract, conclave, subclavian, 27 more
through Proto-Italic *klaudō ‘to close’
closet, disclose, enclose, inclusiveness, 25 more
through Latin claudō ‘shut, end’
close, exclusive, conclusion, closure, clause, inclusion, inclusive, conclude, preclude, cloister, recluse, occlusion, claustrophobia, cloture, 30 more
through Latin exclūdō ‘to shut out, to exclude’
Today it means
noun An artificial passage for water, fitted with a valve or gate, for example in a canal lock or a mill stream, for stopping or regulating the flow.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “sluice”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin excludo. 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 *kleh₂w- / sluice