clay
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clay¹
- /kleɪ/
- [kl̥eɪ]
Rhymes with -eɪ
Where it comes from
From Middle English cley, clay, from Old English clǣġ (“clay”), from Proto-West Germanic *klaij, from Proto-Germanic *klajjaz (“clay”), derived from Proto-Indo-European *gleyH- (“to glue, paste, stick together”). Cognate with Dutch klei (“clay”), Low German Klei (“clay”), German Klei, Danish klæg (“clay”); compare Ancient Greek γλία (glía), Latin glūten (“glue”) (whence ultimately English glue), Russian глина (glina, “clay”). Related also to clag, clog.
noun clays
- A mineral substance made up of small crystals of silica and alumina, that is ductile when moist; the material of pre-fired ceramics. Three chairs of the steamer type, all maimed, comprised the furniture of this roof-garden, with (by way of local color) on one of the copings a row of four red clay flower-pots filled with sun-baked dust […]
- An earth material with ductile qualities.
- A tennis court surface made of crushed stone, brick, shale, or other unbound mineral aggregate. The French Open is played on clay.
- The material of the human body. From clay we are made.
- A particle less than 3.9 microns in diameter, following the Wentworth scale.
- A clay pipe for smoking tobacco.
- A clay pigeon. We went shooting clays at the weekend.
-
Land or territory of a country or other political region, especially when subject to territorial claims.
Vilnius is rightful Polish clay.
Similar: soil
- A moth (Mythimna ferrago).
verb clays · claying · clayed
- To add clay to, to spread clay onto.
- To purify using clay. 1776, Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Book IV, Chapter 7: Of Colonies, Part 2: Causes of Prosperity of New Colonies, They amounted, therefore, to a prohibition, at first of claying or refining sugar for any foreign market, and at present of claying or refi
Clay²
- /kleɪ/
Rhymes with -eɪ
Where it comes from
From a Middle English occupational name for a clay worker, or a habitational name, from Old English clǣġ (“clay”).
proper noun Clays
- A surname originating as an occupation.
- A male given name transferred from the surname. When he was about five years old some kids asked Clay why his mother had called him that. And he did not know. But began to wonder.
- A diminutive of the male given name Clayton.
- A city in Jefferson County, Alabama.
- A census-designated place in Sacramento County, California.
- A home rule city in Webster County, Kentucky, named after Henry Clay.
- An unincorporated community in Adair County, Missouri.
- A town in Onondaga County, New York, named after Henry Clay.
- An unincorporated community in Franklin Township, Jackson County, Ohio.
- A census-designated place in Burleson County, Texas.
- A town, the county seat of Clay County, West Virginia.
- A ghost town in the town of Komensky, Jackson County, Wisconsin.
- A number of townships in the United States, listed under Clay Township.
- Ellipsis of Clay County
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: cadaver, corpse, remains, stiff, mud, ceramic, sand, terracotta, earthenware, ceramics, pottery, hardpan, silt, soil, pulp, muddy
Translations
Every language
noun mineral substance
| Español | arcilla, barro, argilla, alfar, greda, buro |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 찰흙 chalheuk, 점토 jeomto |
| 日本語 | 粘土 nendo |
| 中文 | 黏土 niántǔ |
| हिन्दी | मृत्तिका mŕttikā, चिकनी मिट्टी ciknī miṭṭī |
| Português | argila |
| Français | argile, glaise |
| Deutsch | Lehm, Ton |
| Italiano | argilla, creta |
| Ελληνικά | άργιλος árgilos, πηλός pilós |
| Română | argilă, lut, hlei, humă |
| Русский | гли́на glína |
| Tiếng Việt | đất sét, sét |
| العربية | طِين ṭīn, صَلْصَال ṣalṣāl |
| עברית | חומר \ חֹמֶר khómer, טִיט tít, חֶרֶס khéres |
Talk about this word "clay." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/clay. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. clay. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/clay "clay." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/clay.Cite this
@misc{clay_2026,
title = {clay},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/clay},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
