English word origin

Etymology of Kleve

From German Kleve, from Old High German Cleve, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *klibą (“cliff”). Cognate with English cliff.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

name

A town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From German Kleve, from Old High German Cleve, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *klibą (“cliff”). Cognate with English cliff.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentionKlevede
Derivation mentionClevegoh
Derivation mention*klibągem-pro · cliff
Cognate mentioncliffen

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "wp",
      "args": {
        "1": ",+ (district)"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "de",
        "3": "Kleve"
      },
      "expansion": "German Kleve"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "goh",
        "3": "Cleve"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German Cleve"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*klibą",
        "t": "cliff"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *klibą (“cliff”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cliff"
      },
      "expansion": "English cliff"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Kleve",
      "Kleve#German"
    ],
    [
      "Cleve",
      "Cleve#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "*klibą",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/klibą"
    ],
    [
      "cliff",
      "cliff#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "74f022bb7551deef6176531eb3b033a35d0fe2bca0e65c39eadded0a6f1ad13d",
      "rawRecordSha256": "63ee69e755aa4aa0b55075291a3962dd02c69ba9b15d1b3ca2c89f45418b22f2",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 8310668
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

name

A surname.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from German and Norwegian Kleve.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentionKleveno

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "de",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "German"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "no",
        "3": "Kleve"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Kleve"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Kleve",
      "Kleve#Norwegian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A surname."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "8dc256f5d609b89fcc984bcacb4187070c3b97f5e216f28a7e7da292b767c8ae",
      "rawRecordSha256": "55dbb7df2488169686d3f128f583fc5d6d8749e310aa00bf0c795d8cda70f639",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 8310669
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Kleve →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-S2xldmU