clean

clean
\ \ [OE] Etymologically, clean and German kleinsmallare the same word. Both go back to West Germanic *klainoz, which meantclear, pure’, but whereas the English adjective has stayed fairly close to the original meaning, the German one has passed viaclean’, ‘neat’, ‘dainty’, anddelicatetosmall’. It has been speculated that *klainiz was based on *klai-, which connotedstickiness’ (it was the source of English clay and clammy). The reasoning is that something sticky, perhaps from a coating of oil, would have been perceived as having a clear or shiny surface, and there may also have been a suggestion of the purity conferred by a ceremonial anointing with oil. The derivatives cleanse and cleanly (whence cleanliness) are both Old English formations.
\ \ Cf.CLAMMY, CLAY, CLEANSE

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • clean — [klēn] adj. [ME clene < OE clæne, clean, pure < IE * ĝ(e)lēi < base * ĝel , to gleam > OIr gel, gleaming, white, OHG kleini, gleaming, bright, fine (> Ger klein, small)] 1. a) free from dirt, contamination, impurities, etc.;… …   English World dictionary

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  • Clean — (kl[=e]n), a. [Compar. {Cleaner} (kl[=e]n [ e]r); superl. {Cleanest}.] [OE. clene, AS. cl[=ae]ne; akin to OHG. chleini pure, neat, graceful, small, G. klein small, and perh. to W. glan clean, pure, bright; all perh. from a primitive, meaning… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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