clothe
verbUK /ˈkləʊð/ · US /ˈkloʊð/
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.
1
To adorn or cover with clothing; to dress; to supply clothes or clothing.
- to feed and clothe a family; to clothe oneself extravagantly
- Go with me to clothe you as becomes you.c. 1590-92, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, act IV, scene ii:
2 more examples
- For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 23:21:
- The naked every day he clad, / When he put on his clothes.1766, [Oliver Goldsmith], The Vicar of Wakefield: […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), Salisbury, Wiltshire: […] B. Collins, for F[rancis] Newbery, […], →OCLC:
2
Figuratively To cover or invest, as if with a garment.
- to clothe somebody with authority or power
- language in which they can clothe their thoughts1741, I[saac] Watts, The Improvement of the Mind: Or, A Supplement to the Art of Logick: […], London: […] James Brackstone, […], →OCLC:
2 more examples
- His sides are clothed with waving wood.1726, John Dyer, Grongar Hill:
- words clothed in reason's garb1667, 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:
- Synonyms
- dight, don, put on, accouter, address, apparel, array, attire, beclothe, clothe, garment, dress, enrobe, equip, invest, robe, slip on, vest
- Antonyms
- undress
- Derived terms
- beclothe, enclothe, overclothe, reclothe, unclothe, underclothe
- Related terms
- clothed, get dressed, wear
- Hyponyms
- deck, dress down, dress up, overclothe, overdress, underclothe, underdress, behat, caparison, harness, kit out, rig, shirt