English
clothes
Clothes comes from Old English clāþas, plural of clāþ ‘cloth’, from Proto-Germanic *klaiþą ‘cloth’.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*klaiþą‘patch; cloth’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*klaiþ‘cloth’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150clāþas clāþas‘cloth; (plural) clothes’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500clothes
- Englishearliest quotation 1717clothes
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*klaiþą‘patch; cloth’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*klaiþ‘cloth’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150clāþas clāþas‘cloth; (plural) clothes’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500clothes
- Englishearliest quotation 1717clothes
Earliest quotation: 1717, Matthew Prior: “She turned each way her frighted head, / Then…”
Formed from cloth + -es
Proto-Germanic *klaiþą ‘garment’
Proto-West Germanic *klaiþ
Old English clāþ ‘cloth, clothes, covering, sail’
Middle English cloth
English cloth
Linked words
through Old English clāþ
Today it means
noun Items of clothing; apparel.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *klaiþą / clothes