cloy / kloi/ • v. [tr.] [usu. as adj.] (cloying) disgust or sicken (someone) with an excess of sweetness, richness, or sentiment: a romantic, rather cloying story a curious bittersweetness that cloyed her senses | [intr.] the first sip gives a malty taste that never cloys. DERIVATIVES: cloy·ing·ly adv.ORIGIN: late Middle English: shortening of obsolete accloy ‘stop up, choke,’ from Old French encloyer ‘drive a nail into,’ from medieval Latin inclavare, from clavus ‘a nail.’

cloy †nail XIV; †clog, obstruct XVI; surfeit, satiate XVI. Aphetic of †acloy — AN. acloyer, var. of OF. encloyer (mod. enclouer) :- Rom. *inclāvāre, f. L. in EN- 1 + clāvus nail, rel. to clāvis key, claudere CLOSE.