cleat

From Middle English clete, from Old English clēat (“block, wedge”), from Proto-West Germanic klaut, from Proto-Germanic klautaz (“firm lump”), from Proto-Indo-European gelewd-, from *gley- (“to glue, stick together, form into a ball”). Cognate with Dutch kloot (“ball; testicle”) and German Kloß (“clump”). See also clay and clout.