clayey

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English cleyy, cleyye (“clayish; messy; unclean”) [and other forms], either: from Middle English clei, cley (“clay; clayey soil; clay-containing material used as mortar or plaster”) [and other forms] + -i (suffix forming adjectives); clei, cley is derived from Old English clǣġ (“clay”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gleh₁y-, *gley- (“to smear; to stick; glue; putty”); or from Old English clǣig (“clayey”), from clǣġ (“clay”) (see above) + -iġ (suffix forming adjectives). The English word is equivalent to clay +‎ -ey (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘having the quality of’), with the -e- included to avoid the occurrence of -yy. Sense 4 (“of the human body, as contrasted with the soul”) may allude to the biblical account of God creating man from earth; see Genesis 2:7 (King James Version; spelling modernized): “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.” === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈkleɪ(j)i/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈkleɪi/ Rhymes: -eɪi Hyphenation: clay‧ey === Adjective === clayey (comparative clayier, superlative clayiest) Composed of clay or containing (much) clay; clayish. Synonyms: argillaceous, argillous Antonyms: nonclayey, unclayed Covered or dirtied with clay. Resembling clay; claylike, clayish. Synonym: bolar Antonym: nonclayey (figuratively) Of the human body, as contrasted with the soul; bodily, human, mortal. ==== Derived terms ==== clayeyness nonclayey ==== Related terms ==== clayed clayishness unclayed ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === clay on Wikipedia.Wikipedia === Anagrams === Cayley