English
cline
Cline comes from Ancient Greek κλῑ́νω ‘to lean, incline’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱley-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱley-‘to incline’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱl̥-né-y-ti‘to lean’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*klíňňōreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκλῑ́νωklī́nō‘to lean, incline’
- Englishearliest quotation 2005cline
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱley-‘to incline’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱl̥-né-y-ti‘to lean’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*klíňňōreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκλῑ́νωklī́nō‘to lean, incline’
- Englishearliest quotation 2005cline
Earliest quotation: 2005, Ronnie Cann, Ruth Kempson: “This account effectively reconstructs the well-known grammaticalisation cline from…”
The story
Introduced by English evolutionary biologist and eugenicist Julian Huxley in 1938 after British mycologist John Ramsbottom suggested the term.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- ‘to incline’
law, low, lean, ladder, lid, inclination, eyelid, clinician, declension, proclivity, declination, 27 more
through Proto-Hellenic *klíňňō
through Ancient Greek κλῑ́νω ‘to lean, incline’
Today it means
noun A gradation in a character or phenotype within a species, deme, or other systematic group.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- / cline