Clene

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Archaic spelling of clean, meaning free from dirt or impurities ; morally pure or innocent in conduct ; to cleanse or purify something
2. An old form of clean describing something unsoiled or unstained ; spotless in character or blameless in conduct ; the act of making something pure again
3. Obsolete variant of clean, used of a thing without dirt or stain ; innocent of wrongdoing or sin ; a verb meaning to wash away impurities

Etymology: Before it meant "free from dirt," the root of this word meant something closer to "fine" or "delicate." Its Old English ancestor, "clǣne," was pure and unblemished, and it grew from a Proto-Germanic adjective, probably "*klainaz," that carried that sense of fineness. The same root survives in German, where "klein" means "small," so the two languages took the same ancestral idea in different directions. "Clene" is the Middle English spelling, used through Chaucer's time and for some centuries after, before spelling settled on "clean." The change in spelling came from the Middle English period, when the vowel of the word shifted and the spelling caught up with the new pronunciation. The word has been in English since the Old English period, so it was never borrowed from another language.