cloud (English)
Where does "cloud" come from?
The English word cloud has a surprising history, descending from the Old English 'clūd', which originally meant a mass of stone, rock, boulder, or hill[1]. This Old English term traces back through Proto-West Germanic '*klūt' and Proto-Germanic '*klūtaz' meaning lump or mass, with ultimate roots in Proto-Indo-European '*gel-' meaning to ball up or clench[1][3]. Over time, the meaning shifted from a hardened mass of earth or rock to vaporous masses in the sky, largely replacing the older Germanic term represented by Middle English 'wolken'[1].
Full etymology tree
- cloud (English), 'A rock; boulder; a hill.'
- inherited cloud (Middle English), 'A cloud (mass of water vapour).'
- inherited clud (Old English), 'stone; rock; boulder'
- inherited *klūt (Proto-West Germanic)
- inherited *klūtaz (Proto-Germanic), 'lump, clod'
- derived *gel- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to be cold, to freeze'
- inherited *klūtaz (Proto-Germanic), 'lump, clod'
- inherited *klūt (Proto-West Germanic)
- inherited clud (Old English), 'stone; rock; boulder'
- inherited cloud (Middle English), 'A cloud (mass of water vapour).'
Ancestors
- cloud (Middle English)
- clud (Old English)
- *klūtaz (Proto-Germanic)
- *gel- (Proto-Indo-European)
Cognates and doublets
- klode (Danish)
- kluit (Dutch)
- wolk (Dutch)
- clod (English)
- Kloß (German)
- Wolke (German)
- klot (Swedish)
Descendants and derived words
- accessory cloud (English)
- acloud (English)
- banner cloud (English)
- becloud (English)
- blow a cloud (English)
- brown cloud (English)
- cap cloud (English)
- cloud 9 (English)
- cloudage (English)
- cloud bank (English)
- cloud base (English)
- cloudberry (English)
Sources
- cloud (English) - Wiktionary
- cloud (Middle English) - Wiktionary
- klūtaz (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
- clud (Old English) - Wiktionary
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris