clocks
/klɒks/
noun
Origin
Middle Dutch / Middle Low German
clokke / klokke — bell; later, clock
Overview
Meaning Now
- Devices that measure and show time.
- Plural of "clock"; also, in some contexts, informal reference to clock faces or timepieces collectively.
Literal older meaning
timekeepers; devices for telling the hour
Language path
Old English → Middle English → English
Earliest form
croc?
Earliest period
Old English period
Journey
In medieval Europe, bells were central to public timekeeping: church bells and mechanical striking clocks were closely linked. English inherited the word for the new timepiece through contact with continental Germanic languages, and the meaning shifted from 'bell' to 'clock'.
Evolution
- Middle Dutch / Middle Low German
clokke / klokke
“bell”
Source word for English "clock"; the semantic development moved from the sound-producing object to the timekeeping device associated with striking bells.
- Early Modern English
clock
“timekeeping device”
The word is established in English by the late medieval / early modern period with the sense of a mechanical timepiece.
- Modern English
clocks
“plural of clock”
Regular plural formation with -s.
Connections
Word parts
clock
root
timekeeping device
-s
ending
plural
Related across languages
Dutch
klok
clock; bell
German
Glocke
bell
French
cloche
bell
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Related to clocks
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.