WordofTheDay.US

cluster

/ˈklʌstə/ noun

In Latin: racēmus Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about cluster at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. A grouping of a number of similar things.
    a bunch of trees

verb

  1. Come together as in a cluster or flock.
    The poets constellate in this town every summer
  2. Gather or cause to gather into a cluster.
    She bunched her fingers into a fist

Origin

The noun is derived from Middle English cluster (“bunch, cluster, spray; compact body or mass, ball”) [and other forms], from Old English cluster, clyster (“cluster, bunch, branch”), from Proto-Germanic *klas-, *klus- (“to clump, lump together”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to ball up; to clench; to amass”)) + *-þrą (suffix forming nouns denoting an instrument or tool). The English word is probably a doublet of clot. The verb is derived from the noun. Cognates * Dutch klister (“cluster”) (dialectal) * Icelandic klasi (“cluster; bunch of grapes”) * Low German Kluuster (“cluster”) * Swedish kluster (“cluster”)

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)