Etymograph

English

handcloth

Handcloth comes from Middle English handcloth, and goes back to Old English handclāþ.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150handclāþ
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500handcloth
  3. Englishtodaysame form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150handclāþ
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500handcloth
  3. Englishtodaysame form

A compound of hand + cloth

Proto-Germanic *handuz

Proto-West Germanic *handu

Old English hand

Middle English hond

English hand

Proto-Germanic *klaiþą ‘garment’

Proto-West Germanic *klaiþ

Old English clāþ ‘cloth, clothes, covering, sail’

Middle English cloth

English cloth

Every English word from Old English handclāþ

Today it means

noun A handkerchief.

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

Etymograph / Old English handclāþ / handcloth

Shirt and support for this word