Etymograph

English

klafter

Klafter comes from German Klafter ‘fathom’, and goes back to Old High German klāftra.

  1. Old High Germanc. 750–1050klāftra
  2. Germanc. 1650–presentKlafter‘fathom’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1818klafter

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Old High Germanc. 750–1050klāftra
  2. Germanc. 1650–presentKlafter‘fathom’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1818klafter

Earliest quotation: 1818, Richard Bright: “... for the purpose of working the machine, employed…”

Every English word from Old High German klāftra

Today it means

noun A unit of length formerly widely used in Central Europe, derived from the span of a man's outstretched arms, typically defined as six local feet (equivalent to a fathom) or about 1.8 meters.

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

Etymograph / Old High German klāftra / klafter

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