cloud
/klaʊd/
noun
Origin
Proto-Germanic
*klūđaz — clod, mass of earth
Overview
Meaning Now
- A visible mass of condensed water vapor floating in the atmosphere, typically high above the ground.
- A large, indistinct or moving group of small things, such as insects, smoke, or dust.
- A network of remote servers hosted on the internet used to store, manage, and process data.
Literal older meaning
mass of rock, hill, or mound
Language path
Proto-Indo-European → Proto-Germanic → Old English → English
Earliest form
clūd
Earliest period
11. yüzyıl öncesi
Journey
The transition from 'rock/hill' to 'cloud' occurred in Middle English. The association likely stems from the appearance of heavy, dark, or rounded rain clouds being compared to massive rocky outcroppings or mounds in the sky.
Evolution
- Proto-Germanic
*klūđaz
“clod, hillock, mass of rock”
- Old English
clūd
“rock, hill, boulder”
Semantic shift from earth-mass to sky-mass began in Middle English.
- Middle English
cloude
“cloud, mass of vapor”
Originally referred to dark, heavy masses like hills.
- Modern English
cloud
“visible mass of water vapor”
Connections
Word parts
cloud
root
mass
Related across languages
Low German
Kleet
clod, lump
Explore next
Related to cloud
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.