Etymograph

English

clive

Clive comes from Old English clīfan ‘to cleave, adhere, stick’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *gleybʰ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gleybʰ-‘to lubricate, stick’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*klībaną‘to glue, stick’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*klīban‘to stick, to cling to’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150clīfan‘to cleave, adhere, stick’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cliven
  6. Englishtodayclive

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gleybʰ-‘to lubricate, stick’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*klībaną‘to glue, stick’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*klīban‘to stick, to cling to’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150clīfan‘to cleave, adhere, stick’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cliven
  6. Englishtodayclive

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *klībaną ‘to glue, stick’

climbing, cliff, climber, 2 more

Another origin of clive

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gleybʰ-‘to stick, smear’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*klībā‘burdock’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150clīfe‘clifers (cleavers), burdock’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*clivereconstructed
  5. Englishtodayclive

Another origin of clive

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*glewbʰ-‘to cut, carve, peel’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kleubaną‘to split, pick’reconstructed
  3. Old Norsec. 800–1350klyfja
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cliven
  5. Englishtodayclive

Today it means

verb To climb; ascend.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gleybʰ- / clive

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