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
- c. 1590-92, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew‎^[1], act IV, scene ii:
  Go with me to clothe you as becomes you.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 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:
  The naked every day he clad, / When he put on his clothes.
(figurative) 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:
  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], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
  words clothed in reason's garb

Synonyms

(to adorn or cover with clothing): dight, don, put on; see also Thesaurus:clothe

Derived terms

Translations

adorn with clothing

Aramaic:
Classical Syriac: ܥܛܦ (ʿṭaf)
Armenian: հագցնել (hy) (hagcʻnel)
Aromanian: nvescu
Belarusian: апрана́ць impf (apranácʹ), апрану́ць pf (apranúcʹ)
Bulgarian: обличам (bg) (obličam)
Dutch: kleden (nl)
Egyptian:

(ḥbs)
Esperanto: vesti
Finnish: pukeutua (fi), pukea ylleen
French: vêtir (fr), habiller (fr)
Friulian: vistî
German: bekleiden (de), anziehen (de)
Gothic: 𐍅𐌰𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽 (wasjan)
Greek:
Ancient: ἱματίζω (himatízō)
Hungarian: öltöztet (hu), felöltöztet (hu), ruház (hu), felruház (hu), ruhával ellát, (to cover) fed (hu), burkol (hu), borít (hu), takar (hu)
Icelandic: klæða (is)
Ido: vestizar (io), metar (io)
Ingrian: vaatoittaa
Italian: vestire (it)
Kapampangan: piblasan
Khiamniungan Naga: thòu
Latin: vestiō
Maori: whakakākahu, tāwharu, whakapūngenengene
Persian: لباس پوشاندن (fa)
Portuguese: vestir (pt)
Romanian: îmbrăca (ro)
Russian: одева́ть (ru) impf (odevátʹ), оде́ть (ru) pf (odétʹ)
Scottish Gaelic: sgeadaich
Spanish: vestir (es)
Swedish: klä (sv)
Tagalog: damitan, bihisan
Ukrainian: одяга́ти (odjaháty), вдяга́ти (uk) (vdjaháty)
Yiddish: אָנטאָן (onton)

(figurative) to cover or invest, as if with a garment

Hungarian: felruház (hu), ráruház (hu)

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English clāþ.

Noun

clothe

Alternative form of cloth

Etymology 2

From Old English *clāþian.

Verb

clothe

Alternative form of clothen
- 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “(please specify the story)”, in The Canterbury Tales, [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], →OCLC; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], [London]: […] [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], 1542, →OCLC, lines 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.
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)