Etymology From Clay + mate, after the pattern of playmate.
1
A fan of American singer Clay Aiken.
Is anybody really ever ready for fatherhood? Who knows, but it's safe to say nobody was ready for this: Clay Aiken is going to be a dad. […] But don't get jealous, Claymates. Aiken's paternity was accomplished via artificial insemination, so he's still on the market (though he plans to be involved in the baby's life, friends say).2008 May 31, “The Most Unlikely Dads of the Year”, in Newsweek:
claymate
verb
Etymology Back-formation from claymation.
1
To animate by using stop-motion photography and pieces made out of a moldable substance, typically Plasticine clay.
Even then he was prone to claymate. "I used to make models out of Plasticine, and of course it wasn't long before I wanted them to move on film. […]2000 April 21, Erika Milvy, “Aardman's Claymation Films Taking Shape on Web”, in Los Angeles Times: