Claudo

#etymology Published: 2021-12-17

In English, there are many words that end in “-clude”. For example, “include”, “exclude”, “conclude”, “preclude”, “seclude”, “occlude”, and so on. This “-clude” part comes from the Latin word “claudō”, meaning “I shut, close”, which more or less makes sense. Let’s take a quick look at some more words with this etymology.

close

Almost needless to say, the word “close” itself has the same origin.

closet, enclosure

These words refer to something that makes a physically closed space.

clause

A grammatical cluase can be considered as a closed unit of words containing a subject and predicate.

cloister

“Cloister” refers to “a covered walk or arcade connected with a monastery, college, or large church”. You can easily see what it is by looking at the images.

others

The word “claudō” is derived from the PIE “kleh₂w-“, meaning “key”. The word “clitoris” meaning “a sexual organ above the vagina” comes from the Ancient Greek “κλείω” meaning “to close” (the clitoris is “closed” by the labia minora), which ultimately comes from “kleh₂w-“.