Etymology

From Proto-Baltic *kļūti, from *klʲū-, from the reduced grade *klʲū- of *klew-, *klū-, from the stem *kel- ‎(“to bend”) (whence also kļaut ‎(“to hug, to press against one's heart”) and kļūda ‎(“error, mistake”)). The semantic change was probably “to bend, to be bent” > “to get stuck, to stay (somewhere)” > “to stay, get (somewhere)” > “to become.” Cognates include Lithuanian kliū́ti ‎(“to catch, to be caught, delayed; to undertake; to hit (target); to disturb, to be an obstacle; to obtain, to get, to reach”).^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kʎûːt]