Cledge

/klɛdʒ/ noun

Definition

Dialect word for a thick, heavy ball or lump of earth or clay; a lumpy, sticky substance.

Etymology

From Middle English cledge or clogge, possibly from Old English clod (lump of earth). Related to 'clod' and 'clay,' with origins in Germanic languages describing lumpy earth.

Kelly Says

This is a beautiful dialect word that's almost dead—it was used in farming communities where workers literally spent all day dealing with 'cledges' of wet earth. Language dies when the work it describes disappears.

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