klug

From Middle High German kluoc, which was borrowed via the Lower Rhineland from Middle Low German klōk and Middle Dutch cloec, from Proto-Germanic *klōkaz. Compare Old Norse klókr, and dialectal Dutch kloek.

In Upper German dialects, the final [k]-sound after a long vowel was naturally interpreted as underlying /ɡ/. This form then also spread back northwards, though some northern Central German dialects (like Ripuarian) retained /k/, as did Low German.

• IPA^(key): /kluːk/ (standard)
• IPA^(key): /kluːx/ (northern and central Germany, but rarer than otherwise because of the dialectal forms in -k)

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːk

klug (strong nominative masculine singular kluger, comparative klüger, superlative am klügsten)

1. intelligent, prudent, wise, smart, clever

• “klug”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎^[1] (in German)
• “klug” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “klug” in Duden online

• kluch (superseded)

From Middle High German kluoc (inflected kluoge), borrowed from Middle Dutch cloec and Middle Low German klôk.

The spelling is slightly unusual, probably because it reflects the variation between short and long pronunciations. Regularly one should expect kluch, *klucht, *kluchst with short vowel, and klug, *kluugt, *kluugst with long vowel. (Before vocalic suffixes it would be klug- [klu(ː)ʁ-] in any case.)

• IPA^(key): [kluχ], [kluːχ]

klug (masculine klugen, neuter klugt, comparative méi klug, superlative am klugsten)

1. smart, clever, intelligent

   Synonyms: lous, schlau

   Antonyms: domm, eefälleg, topeg

   Hatt ass e klugt Meedchen. ― She’s a clever girl.