The story
- Proto-Germanic · inherited from*klangijaną
- Old English · inherited fromclenġan“to adhere; remain”
- Old English · inherited fromclenċan“to clinch; hold fast”
- Middle English · inherited fromclenchen
- English todayclench
From Middle English clenchen, from Old English clenċan (“to clinch; hold fast”), a variant of Old English clenġan (“to adhere; remain”), from Proto-Germanic *klangijaną, causative of *klinganą (“to stick; adhere”). Related to cling.
Words from the same roots
Old Englishclenċan all →
clinker-built
Proto-Germanic*klangijaną all →
clinker-built
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.