clout

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*gel-“to ball up, amass”
2. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*gelewdos
3. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*klūtaz
4. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*klūt
5. Old English · inherited fromclūt“piece of cloth, patch; metal plate”
6. Middle English · inherited fromclout“piece of cloth”
7. English todayclout

From Middle English clout (“piece of cloth”), from Old English clūt (“piece of cloth, patch; metal plate”), from Proto-West Germanic *klūt, from Proto-Germanic *klūtaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gelewdos, from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to ball up, amass”). The influence sense originated in the dialect of Chicago, but has become widespread. Cognate with Old Norse klútr (“kerchief”), Swedish klut, Danish klud, Middle High German klōz (“lump”), whence German Kloß (“clump”), and dialectal Russian глуда (gluda). See also cleat.

Words from the same roots