Etymology Map
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Clock

4 stages from Old Irish to English.

Today it means an instrument for measuring and showing the time

Where does the word "clock" come from? It comes from Old Irish cloc, passing through Medieval Latin and Middle Dutch before entering English (1300s).

1
Stage 1 of 4
cloc
Old Irish · 600s
"bell"
'bell', probably imitative; Irish monks such as St Columbanus carried hand-bells on their missions across Europe around 600
2
Stage 2 of 4
clocca
Medieval Latin · 700s
"bell"
the Irish word entered the Latin of the Church, giving French cloche and German Glocke 'bell'
3
Stage 3 of 4
clocke
Middle Dutch · 1300s
"bell; clock"
'bell', and by extension a timepiece that struck the hours on a bell
4
Stage 4 of 4
clock
English · 1300s
"timepiece"
the first mechanical clocks told time only by striking bells; Salisbury Cathedral's clock of about 1386 is often called the oldest working clock in the world
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Read the full story

Clock’s story begins in Old Irish: cloc meant “bell.” 'bell', probably imitative; Irish monks such as St Columbanus carried hand-bells on their missions across Europe around 600. By 700s, the word had taken hold in Medieval Latin as clocca. The Irish word entered the Latin of the Church, giving French cloche and German Glocke 'bell'. From there it passed into Middle Dutch as clocke by 1300s. 'bell', and by extension a timepiece that struck the hours on a bell. It reached English by 1300s as clock. The first mechanical clocks told time only by striking bells; Salisbury Cathedral's clock of about 1386 is often called the oldest working clock in the world. Today, clock means an instrument for measuring and showing the time.