Clutched
/klʌtʃt/noun
Held tightly with the hand or as if with the hand.
Did you know?The core root behind *clutch* is likely linked to Old English and Middle English words for grasping, and it spawned modern words like *clench* and *clutch*—all about the body’s instinct to seize, hold, and not let go.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gleubh-
“to tear apart, cleave; possibly a distant ancestral root behind grasping and splitting words”
Old English
OE
clyccan
“to clutch, seize, or grasp”
Middle English
ME
clucchen
“to seize, grasp, or hold tightly”
14th Century
English
clutchen
“to grasp, grab, or seize with the hand”
Modern English
English
clutched
“held tightly or seized firmly”