section_path: Etymology
section_name: Etymology
paragraph_text: Etymology
  
  The word clock derives from the medieval Latin word for 'bell'— clocca —and has cognates in many European languages. Clocks spread to England from the Low Countries, so the English word came from the Middle Low German and Middle Dutch Klocke. The word derives from the Middle English clokke, Old North French cloque, or Middle Dutch clocke, all of which mean 'bell'.