English
clear
Clear comes from Middle English clere, from Anglo-Norman cler, from Latin clarus, from PIE *kelh₁- ‘to call’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kelh₁-‘to call’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclarus‘clear’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400cler‘bright’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400cler
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500clere
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1610–1611clear
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kelh₁-‘to call’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclarus‘clear’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400cler‘bright’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400cler
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500clere
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1610–1611clear
Earliest quotation: c. 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, The Winters Tale: “with a countenance as clear / As friendship wears…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- ‘to call, shout’
low, hell, claim, classic, haul, calendar, reconciliation, reconcile, proclamation, classify, reclamation, exclamation, squeal, irreconcilable, clamour, clamor, clas, ecclesiastic, conciliar, ecclesial, 36 more
through Latin clarus ‘clear, bright’
declare, clarity, clarification, clarinet, clarion, claret, 11 more
through Old French cler ‘bright, well-lit, not dark’
Today it means
adj Transparent in colour.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- / clear