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clus·ter

(klŭstər)

1. A group of the same or similar elements gathered or occurring closely together; a bunch: "She held out her hand, a small tight cluster of fingers" (Anne Tyler).

2. Linguistics Two or more successive consonants in a word, as cl and st in the word cluster.

3. A group of academic courses in a related area.

v. clus·tered, clus·ter·ing, clus·ters

v.intr.

To gather or grow into bunches.

v.tr.

To cause to grow or form into bunches.

[Middle English, from Old English clyster.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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