"C" Word Origins

civic

Latin

From Latin civicus, "pertaining to a city or its citizens."

civics

Latin

From Latin civicus, "having to do with citizens or a city."

civil

Latin

From Old French civil, from Latin cīvīlis ("relating to a citizen"), from cīvis ("citizen").

civilian

Old French

From Old French civilien, built from civil plus the suffix -ian.

civilisation

French

From French civilisation, from civil plus -isation.

civilise

Origin

From civil + -ise.

civility

Latin

From Latin civilitas, via French civilité; built from civil plus -ity.

civilization

French

From French civilisation, built from civilize plus -ation.

civilize

Origin

Borrowed from French civiliser, corresponding to civil + -ize.

civvies

Origin

A shortened, informal form of "civilian clothes."

clack

Old English

From Old English *clacian ("to slap, clap, clack"), imitative in origin.

clad

Middle English

From Middle English clad, an old past-tense/participle form of "clothen" (to clothe).

cladding

Origin

From clad + -ing. Compare clothing, ultimately from the same source.

claes

Old English

A Scots variant of "clothes," from Old English clāþas.

claim

Latin

From Old French clamer ("to call out, name"), from Latin clāmāre ("to shout").

claimant

Origin

From Old French and Anglo-Norman clamant, present participle of the verb clamer and its variants, from Latin clāmō (“to cry out”), equivalent to claim + -ant. Compare clamant.

claimed

Latin

From Old French clamer 'to call, cry out', from Latin clamare 'to shout'.

Clair

Origin

A less common spelling of Claire.

claire

French

From French claire, the feminine form of clair ("clear").

clairvoyance

Origin

Borrowed from French clairvoyance.

clairvoyant

French

From French clairvoyant, from clair ("clear") + voyant ("seeing").

clam

Old English

From Old English clam ("bond, grip"), related to a word meaning to press or squeeze together — the shellfish sense comes from how tightly its shell clamps shut.

clamant

Origin

Latin clāmāns, present participle of clāmō (“yell”). Doublet of claimant.

clamber

Origin

From Middle English clambren, clameren, clemeren (“to climb, clamber; to crawl, creep”), then either: * possibly from clam, clamb, clemb, past tense of climben (“to climb, get over; to ascend, rise”), and influenced by Old English clæmman (“to press”); or * from Old English *clambrian, from Proto-Germanic *klambrōną or *klambizōną. The English word is cognate with Low German klemmern, klempern (“to climb”), Scots clammer (“to clamber”); and compare also Danish klamre (“to cling”), Icelandic klambra, klembra (“to pinch closely together; clamp”), Swedish klamra (“to cling”). The noun is derived from the verb.

clammy

Old English

From Old English clǣman ("to smear, daub"); related to clam in the sense of something sticky.

clamor

Latin

From Old French clamour, from Latin clāmor ("a shout, cry"), from clāmāre ("to cry out").

clamorous

Origin

From clamor + -ous; compare Latin clāmōrōsus and French clamoreux (obsolete), from Latin clāmōrem.

clamour

Latin

From Latin clāmor ("a shout, cry"), from clāmāre ("to cry out").

clamp

Germanic

From Middle Dutch clampe ("a clamp, hook"), related to a Germanic root meaning to press together.

clampdown

Origin

Deverbal from clamp down.

clamshell

Origin

From clam + shell.

clan

Latin

From Scottish Gaelic clann ("children, offspring"), ultimately from Latin planta ("shoot, offspring").

clancy

Origin

From Clancy of the Overflow, a character in a poem of that name (also in The Man from Snowy River) by Australian poet Banjo Patterson.

clandestine

Latin

From Latin clandestīnus ("secret, concealed").

clang

German · 1570

Recorded from the 1570s, of imitative origin, echoed in German Klang and Danish/Swedish klang.

clank

Origin

Onomatopoeic, imitating the sound itself.

clanker

Origin

From clank + -er, onomatopoeic. The sense meaning "robot" appears in science fiction at least as early as 1958. Its broader popular use increased on social media beginning around 2024, due to the AI boom. In this wave of usage, it was especially influenced by the word's appearance in the Star Wars franchise, particularly the 2005 video game Star Wars: Republic Commando. In Star Wars, the term was used towards B1-series battle droids, which were humanoid robots that were manufactured for the sole purpose of fighting in armed conflicts. Their nickname of "clanker" stems from the fact that they would frequently make clanking noises any time they moved around due to being cheaply mass-produced.

clap

Old English

From Old English clæppan, of imitative Germanic origin describing a sharp striking sound.

clapper

French

Borrowed from French clapier.

clapping

Middle English

From Middle English clappynge; equivalent to clap + -ing.

Clapton

Old English

From Middle English Clopton, from Old English clopp ("rock, hill") and tūn ("enclosure, settlement").

claptrap

Origin · 1700

From 18th-century theatre slang: a "trap" for catching applause, i.e. a cheap line or gimmick designed purely to make an audience clap.

claque

Origin

Borrowed from French claque (“group of people hired to applaud or boo, claque”, literally “a slap; a clap”).

Clara

Latin · 1200

From Latin clāra, feminine of clārus ("bright, shining"), made famous by the 13th-century Saint Clare of Assisi.

Clare

Latin · 1200

The order takes its name from Saint Clare of Assisi, its 13th-century founder; her own name comes from Latin clarus, "bright, clear."

Claremont

Origin

Variant of Clairmont.

clarence

Origin

Named after the Duke of Clarence, a British royal title — the carriage style was associated with him.

claret

Old French

From Old French vin claret, "clear wine" — originally describing a lighter, clearer red than the deep reds usually made.