Etymograph

English

clap

Clap comes from Middle English clappen ‘to clap’, from Old English clæppan ‘to throb’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *klappōną ‘to clap’.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*klappōną‘to clap’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*klappijan‘to clap, strike or pound’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150clæppan‘to throb’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500clappen‘to clap’
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1597clap

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*klappōną‘to clap’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*klappijan‘to clap, strike or pound’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150clæppan‘to throb’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500clappen‘to clap’
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1597clap

Earliest quotation: c. 1597, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]: “Hostesse clap to the doores.”

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *klappōną

Another origin of clap

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400clapoir‘bubo, inflammation from infection’uncertain
  2. Englishtodayclap

May also be from old, unsafe treatments for gonorrhea, such as clapping the penis between a book and a hard surface to break up obstructions in the urethra and permit urination. Attested from the 16th century.

Today it means

noun The act of striking the palms of the hands, or any two surfaces, together.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *klappōną / clap

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