clothe

English

Alternative forms

cloathe (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English clothen, from Old English clāþian (“to clothe”), from Proto-Germanic *klaiþōną (“to clothe”), from Proto-Indo-European *gley- (“to adhere to, stick”). Cognate with Dutch kleden, German kleiden, Swedish kläda, after apocope klä. See also cloth, clad.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkləʊð/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkloʊð/
Audio (US) (file)
Rhymes: -əʊð

Verb

clothe (third-person singular simple present clothes, present participle clothing, simple past and past participle clothed or (archaic) clad)

(transitive) To adorn or cover with clothing; to dress; to supply clothes or clothing.
to feed and clothe a family; to clothe oneself extravagantly
- 1478, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue, 101-104,
  A YEMAN hadde he and servantz namo / At that tyme, for hym liste ride soo; / And he was clad in cote and hood of grene.
- c. 1590-92, Shakespeare, William, The Taming of the Shrew‎, act IV, scene ii:
  Go with me to clothe you as becomes you.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Proverbs 23:21:
  For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
- 1766, [Oliver Goldsmith], The Vicar of Wakefield: […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), Salisbury, Wiltshire: […] B. Collins, for F[rancis] Newbery, […], OCLC 938500648; reprinted London: Elliot Stock, 1885, OCLC 21416084:
  The naked every day he clad, / When he put on his clothes.
(figuratively) To cover or invest, as if with a garment.
to clothe somebody with authority or power
- 1741, I[saac] Watts, The Improvement of the Mind: Or, A Supplement to the Art of Logick: […], London: […] James Brackstone, […], OCLC 723474632:
  language in which they can clothe their thoughts
- 1726, John Dyer, Grongar Hill
  His sides are clothed with waving wood.
- 1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:
  words clothed in reason's garb