English
clean
Clean comes from Old English clāne ‘clean’, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *klainī.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*klainī‘dainty’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150clāne‘clean’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500clene
- Englishearliest quotation 1611clean
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*klainī‘dainty’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150clāne‘clean’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500clene
- Englishearliest quotation 1611clean
Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Create in me a clean heart, O God.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gel- ‘to gleam’
children, child, cold, globe, chill, cloud, gel, jelly, cluster, colt, gelatin, clout, clot, gelato, clough, ganglion, glebe, globus, klutz, globulin, clod, 48 more
Today it means
adj Free of dirt, filth, or impurities (extraneous matter); not dirty, filthy, or soiled.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *klainī / clean