ḱlew-

The root *ḱlew- illustrates a semantic chain from physical hearing to social reputation: to be heard is to be known, and to be known is to be famous. This connection between auditory perception and social standing permeates the IE lexicon. Latin cluēre ("to be called, to be reputed") and its derivative inclutus / inclitus ("renowned") preserve the social sense. The compound inter-cludere ("to shut off") shows a different semantic path. The name Cloelia and the archaic form clueō belong here. Greek kléos (κλέος, "fame, glory, renown") is one of the central concepts of Homeric epic. The phrase kléos áphthiton ("imperishable fame") has been identified as a formula inherited from PIE poetic tradition, with a precise cognate in Vedic Sanskrit śrávas ákṣitam. This correspondence between Greek and Sanskrit poetic formulae constitutes some of the strongest evidence for reconstructed PIE poetry. Sanskrit śrávas ("fame, glory") shows the satem shift *ḱ > ś. The related śrávati ("is heard") and the proper name Śravasā demonstrate the productivity of the root. The compound śrávas ákṣitam in R̥gveda 1.9.7 directly parallels the Homeric formula. In Germanic, Old English hlūd ("loud," Modern English loud), hlȳstan ("to listen"), and the name Hludwig (Frankish, > French Louis, English Lewis/Ludwig) continue the root. The semantic shift from "heard" to "loud" (i.e., "able to be heard") is straightforward. Old Irish cloth ("fame") and Old Church Slavonic slovo ("word") — from which Slavic peoples take their ethnic name ("people of the word") — extend the attestation. The connection between *ḱlew- and the ethnonym "Slav" is one of the more culturally resonant etymologies in the field.