clever English · revision 6381

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1220}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈklɛv.ə/ ''(UK)''; /ˈklɛv.ɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English cliver, of uncertain origin.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) Barnhart relates it to Middle English clivre, claw, and to Old English [[m|ang|clifian|t=to stick]] (see [[cleave]]), as if “sharp to seize”;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) MWU suggests a Scandinavian source, compare Danish dialect kløver, skilful;^(MWU 2024) Etymonline mentions East Frisian klüfer, skilful, and Norwegian dialect klover.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Expert or nimble with the claws or hands, quick to seize: about 1220 in the OED, before 1250 in Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Deft with the hands, handy, is from 1580–95, in the letters of Robert Southwell.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Extension to the intellect, quick-witted, is first recorded in 1704.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Johnson (1755) called it ''a low word'' used of anything one likes, without settled meaning.^(Etymonline)^(Johnson 1755) In dialect and old use it also meant well-shaped or handsome, and in American English of the 18th–19th centuries good-natured or agreeable.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) Collins notes the British informal ''not too clever'', unwell.^(Collins 2023) In Yorkshire dialect clever was also a verb, to boast.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1220 – nimble in seizing.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1580 – deft with the hands.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1704 – intelligent.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1755 – ''a low word'' in Johnson.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Quick to understand and learn; [[intelligent]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Showing skill or ingenuity: ''a clever idea''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Skilful with the hands; [[dexterous]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Superficially smart or witty.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cleverly]]

+ * [[cleverness]]

+ * [[cleverish]]

+ * [[cleverishly]]

+ * [[overclever]]

+ * [[unclever]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cleave]]

+ * [[clever-clever]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}