clothes
nounUK /kləʊ(ð)z/ · US /kloʊ(ð)z/
Etymology From Middle English clothes, cloþes, plural of cloth, cloþ (“cloth, garment”), from Old English clāþas (“clothes”), plural of clāþ (“cloth”), equivalent to cloth + -es. Cognate with Scots clathes, claes (“clothes”), Danish klæder, Norwegian Bokmål klær, Norwegian Nynorsk klede, German Kleider.
1
Items of clothing; apparel.
- suit of clothes.
- Even in an era when individuality in dress is a cult, his clothes were noticeable. He was wearing a hard hat of the low round kind favoured by hunting men, and with it a black duffle-coat lined with white.1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 6, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
2
Obsolete plural of cloth.
3
The covering of a bed; bedclothes.
- She turned each way her frighted head, / Then sunk it deep beneath the clothes.1717, Matthew Prior, The Dove:
4
Laundry (hung on a clothesline).
- Synonyms
- clothing
- Derived terms
76 terms
bedclothes, change of clothes, clothes-bag, clothes bag, clothesbasket, clothes basket, clothesbrush, clothes-brush, clothes brush, clothescare, clothes don't make the man, clothes drier, clothes dryer, clothes free, clothes hanger, clotheshorse, clothes horse, clothes-horse, clothes iron, clothesless, clothes line, clothesline, clothes maiden, clothesmaker, clothes make the man, clothes maketh the man, clothesmaking, clothesman, clothes minded, clothes moth, clothes on one's back, clothes peg, clothespeg, clothes-peg, clothespin, clothes pole, clothes press, clothes-press, clothespress, clothesprop, clothes prop, clothes-prop, clothes rack, clothes screen, clothes shop, clothes stand, clothestree, clothes tree, clothes valet, clothes washer, clotheswoman, clothesy, clothesyard, clothist, dead-clothes, dress clothes, emperor's new clothes, free clothes association, graveclothes, gym clothes, long clothes, nightclothes, old-clothesman, overclothes, plain clothes, rainclothes, roast-meat clothes, shortclothes, smallclothes, street clothes, Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes, swaddling clothes, swathing clothes, under clothes, underclothes, webbing clothes moth- Related terms
- clothing, gear, habiliment, threads