Clank
/klæŋk/noun
A sharp, hard, metallic sound.
Did you know?Clank is an onomatopoeic word, meaning its sound was shaped to imitate the noise itself rather than inherited from an older root like most vocabulary.
Etymological Timeline
Early Modern English
English
clank
“A sharp metallic noise; a ringing crash”
Middle English
English
clanken
“To make a clanking sound; to clash or rattle”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*klank-
“An imitative sound-base suggesting a ringing or striking noise”
Modern English
English
clank
“A hard, resonant metallic sound”