English word origin

Etymology of clem

Inherited from Middle English *clemmen, *clammen, from Old English clemman, clæmman (“to press, surround”), from Proto-West Germanic *klammjan (“to squeeze”). Cognate with Dutch klemmen (“to jam, pinch, stick”), German k

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 ↗

verb

To be hungry; starve.

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mention*clemmenenm
Inherited-form mentionclemmanang
Inherited-form mention*klammjangmw-pro · to squeeze
Cognate mentionklemmennl · to jam, pinch, stick
Cognate mentionklemmende · to jam, clamp; to be stuck, stick [to a surface]

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      },
      "expansion": ""
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    },
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        "3": "clemman"
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    },
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      },
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    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "klemmen",
        "t": "to jam, clamp; to be stuck, stick [to a surface]"
      },
      "expansion": "German klemmen (“to jam, clamp; to be stuck, stick [to a surface]”)"
    }
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      "Reconstruction:Middle English/clemmen"
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    [
      "clemman",
      "clemman#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "clæmman",
      "clæmman#Old_English"
    ],
    [
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    ],
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    ],
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      "klemmen#German"
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      ],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

A brick or stone. · One stone (unit of mass). · A testicle.

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

From Old English clām (“paste, mortar, mud, clay, poultice”), from Proto-West Germanic *klaim, equivalent to cloam. Similar linguistic development led to the Northumbrian pronunciation of hyem, equivalent to the RP home.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionclāmang · paste, mortar, mud, clay, poultice
Inherited-form mention*klaimgmw-pro

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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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 clem →

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-Y2xlbQ