An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Klette

by Friedrich Kluge

Klette, f., ‘bur,’ from the equiv. MidHG. klëtte, f., with the variant klëte; OHG. chlëtto, m., chlëtta, f. (also OHG. chlëta). AS. cliþe, clâte, f., E. clotbur, ‘large bur’; further from the root klī̆b, ‘to cleave (to), adhere’ (comp. kleben), the equiv. OHG. chlîba, AS. clîfe, MidE. clîve, as well as MidDu. klijve, MidLG. klîve; finally also ModDu. klis, f., ‘bur.’ OHG. chlëtta is the most closely connected with AS. cliþe. It has been compared with Lat. glis (ss) as a cognate. From the G. word, OFr. gleton, gletteron, and ModFr. glouteron are derived. Comp. also the next word.