glue
/ɡluː/
noun
Origin
Old French
glu — birdlime, glue
Overview
Meaning Now
- A hard, brittle substance made by boiling animal hides and connective tissues, used as an adhesive.
- Any of various strong adhesive substances used to stick things together.
Literal older meaning
drawing together or viscous substance
Language path
Proto-Indo-European → Latin → Old French → Middle English → English
Earliest form
glu
Earliest period
14th century
Journey
The term originally referred specifically to substances derived from animal products, such as bones and hides, which were boiled down to extract collagen. Over time, it came to represent any synthetic or natural adhesive agent.
Evolution
- Proto-Indo-European
*glew-
“to adhere, to form into a ball”
Base for words meaning to stick or lump together.
- Latin
glus
“glue”
Root of glutinous and gluten.
- Old French
glu
“birdlime (a sticky substance)”
- Middle English
glue
“sticky substance for joining”
Adopted from Old French.
Connections
Word parts
glue
root
adhesive substance
Related across languages
French
glu
birdlime
Latin
glūten
glue
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Related to glue
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.