clean

English

/kliːn/, /klin/, /kleːn/

adj
Definitions
  • (heading) Free of dirt or impurities or protruberances.
  • (heading) Free of immorality or criminality.
  • smooth, exact, and performed well
  • (obsolete) Total; utter. still in "clean sweep"
  • (informal) Cool or neat.
  • (health) Being free of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
  • That does not damage the environment.
  • Free from that which is useless or injurious; without defects.
  • Free from restraint or neglect; complete; entire.
  • Well-proportioned; shapely.
  • (climbing) Ascended without falling.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English clene inherited from Old English clǣne (clean, pure) inherited from Proto-Germanic *klainiz (shining, tender, fine, splendid, precious, splended, clear, brilliantly bright, clean, pure, elegant) derived from Proto-Indo-European *glēy- (gleaming), *gel- (cold, form into a ball, ball, gleam, ball up, freeze, be cold, amass, clench, round, swollen).

Origin

Proto-Indo-European

*gel-

Gloss

cold, form into a ball, ball, gleam, ball up, freeze, be cold, amass, clench, round, swollen

Concept
Semantic Field

Sense perception

Ontological Category

Person/Thing

Kanji

冷, 寒

Emoji
☃️ ⛄️ ❄️ 🌊 🌡️ 🌨️ 🌩️ 🏔️ 💧 😅 😓 😰 😷 🥶 🧊

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms