climb English · revision 6454

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1000|origins=gmw-pro *klimban}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈklaɪ̯m/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English climben, [[inh|ang|climban|t=to raise oneself with hands and feet; to ascend]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[gmw-pro|*klimban|t=to go up by clinging]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) cognate with [[nl|klimmen]] and [[de|klimmen]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) a nasalized form related to [[cleave]], to adhere, and to [[clay]].^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Before 1000.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It was a strong verb in Old English (clamb, clumben) but weak by the 16th century,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) with archaic past tense clomb.^(SOED 2002) Other Germanic languages long ago dropped the -b, and in English it is silent.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) To rise slowly by effort is from the mid-13th century, and to mount as if by climbing from the mid-14th century.^(Etymonline) The noun, an act of climbing, is from 1577–87, in Holinshed's ''Chronicles'',^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) and an ascent by aircraft from 1915.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1000 – to climb.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-13th century – to rise by effort.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1577 – the noun.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1915 – an aircraft's ascent.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To go up something, especially using hands and feet.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To move with effort into or out of a position.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To rise, increase or slope upward: ''prices climbed''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of a plant, to grow up a support.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An act of climbing; an ascent.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[climbable]]

+ * [[free-climb]]

+ * [[climber]]

+ * [[unclimbed]]

+ * [[climb-down]]

+ * [[outclimb]]

+ * [[reclimb]]

+ * [[unclimbable]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[clamber]]

+ * [[cleave]]

+ * [[clay]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}