Clog
/klɒɡ/noun
A heavy object that blocks movement or a wooden shoe.
Did you know?The shoe sense of *clog* is likely from the same old Germanic root as words for a heavy lump or mass, while the verb sense “to obstruct” emerged later from the idea of something physically weighing a passage down.
Etymological Timeline
Old Norse / Middle English
Norse/English
kluggi / clogge
“A lump, block, or heavy mass”
Middle English
English
clogge
“A heavy wooden shoe or block attached to footwear”
14th–15th Century
English
cloggen
“To burden, hamper, or encumber”
16th Century
English
clog
“Anything that obstructs or hinders movement”
Modern English
English
clog
“A blockage, hindrance, or a type of wooden shoe”