Cloy

Definition: To become weary from an excess – or surfeit – of food.

Pronunciation: Kloy 

Origin:

A complicated one – bear with me! Middle English – late 14^th century cloyen (to hinder movement/encumber). Traces its entrance into modern English in the 1520s, where it took on the meaning of  ‘to hinder movement due to gluttonus excess’. Originally from Old French accloyen (early 14^th century – to fasten with a nail)– shortened in late 14^th century to cloyen. Old French comes from encloer, ‘to hinder or stop’. From Late Latin inclavare, ‘to drive a nail into a horse’s hoof when shoeing’ (Latin clavus means ‘nail’).

Why This Word:

I was drawn to this word not because of the penchant I appear to have for words related to gluttony, but rather because of an apparent paradox in its meaning. Cloy derived from a word meaning to drive a nail into a horse’s hoof when shoeing – and is thus part of the process by which a horse’s movement becomes easier. However, it has come to mean something approaching an opposing meaning – namely, to eat so much that movement itself becomes difficult.

How to use the word cloy in a sentence? 

An example: “I remember the time I ate twelve pounds of mashed potato. After the eighth pound, it began to cloy.” (Note – this is an example. Though Irish, I have never had to eat more than four pounds of potato at a sitting …)