clean English · revision 3205

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 750|origins=gmw-pro *klainī}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kliːn/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|clene|t=clear, pure]],^(AHD 2000)^(Barnhart 1988) [[inh|ang|clǣne|t=free from dirt; morally pure; clear]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gmw-pro|*klainī|alt=*klainja-|t=clear, pure]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) the source also of Old Saxon klēni “dainty, delicate”, Old Frisian klēne “small” and Old High German kleini “delicate, fine, small” (German klein “small”).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) English keeps the original sense “clear, pure” more closely than the other modern languages.^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) Barnhart and Etymonline connect it with [[ine-pro|*gel-|t=bright, gleaming]], the source of Greek galēnós “calm” and Armenian całr “laughter”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) but Boutkan doubts the Indo-European etymology and that the “clean” and “small” words are the same.^(Etymonline) The verb is from the adjective.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English clǣne is recorded about 750, in a reference to Cynewulf;^(Barnhart 1988) the OED's earliest quotation, “free from any defiling ingredient”, is from 883.^(OED 1989) Middle English clene, “clear, pure”, is from 1110, in the ''Peterborough Chronicle''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old English the word also meant “morally pure, chaste” and, of animals, “not forbidden by religious law to eat”.^(Etymonline) Weekley notes that in its higher senses it has largely been replaced by ''clear'' and ''pure'',^(Etymonline) while the verb, from about 1450, has taken over much of what once belonged to [[cleanse]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The adverb, “completely”, as in ''clean forgot'', is Old English.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) “Whole, entire” is from about 1300, and ''a clean sweep'' in the figurative sense from 1821.^(Etymonline) ''To make a clean breast of it'', “to confess everything”, is from the mid-18th century, from the old idea that the conscience lay in the breast.^(Cresswell 2021) “Not lewd”, as in ''good clean fun'', is from 1867,^(Etymonline) ''to come clean'', “to confess”, from 1919 in American English,^(Etymonline) “carrying nothing forbidden” from 1938, and “free of drug addiction” from the 1950s.^(Etymonline) ''Cleanliness is next to godliness'' is from the late 18th century and was quoted by John Wesley.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 750 – Old English clǣne.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 900 – adverb, completely.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1110 – Middle English clene.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – whole, entire.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1450 – verb, to make clean.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1821 – ''a clean sweep''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1867 – not lewd.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1919 – ''to come clean''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1950s – free of drugs.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Free from dirt, stains or impurities.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Producing little [[pollution]]: ''clean energy''.^(AHD)

+ # Morally pure; not [[obscene]]: ''clean fun''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Fair; without breaking rules: ''a clean fight''.^(AHD)

+ # Smooth and even; neat: ''a clean cut''.^(AHD)

+ # ''(informal)'' Not carrying anything illegal; no longer taking drugs.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To remove dirt from; to make clean.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To prepare fish or poultry for cooking by removing the inside parts.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Completely: ''I clean forgot''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # In a clean or fair way.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cleanable]]

+ * [[cleanness]]

+ * [[cleanability]]

+ * [[clean-limbed]]

+ * [[superclean]]

+ * [[unclean]]

+ * [[clean-handed]]

+ * [[clean-living]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[dry-clean]]

+ * [[cleanse]]

+ * [[cleanly]]

+ * [[cleaner]]

+ * [[cleanliness]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}