English
[
edit
]
Pronunciation
[
edit
]
Etymology 1
[
edit
]
From
Middle English
clout
, from
Old English
cl?t
, from
Proto-Germanic
*kl?taz
, from
Proto-Indo-European
*gelewdos
, from
Proto-Indo-European
*gel-
(
“
to ball up, amass
”
)
. The sense “influence, especially political” originated in the dialect of
Chicago
, but has become widespread.
Noun
[
edit
]
clout
(
countable
and
uncountable
,
plural
clouts
)
- (
informal
)
Influence
or
effectiveness
, especially political.
1975
, Len O'Connor,
Clout--Mayor Daley and His City
[1]
, page
74
:
Having relinquished his
clout
in City Council to run for a place on the county board, and having lost stature by reason of his failure to win the presidency, Duffy was in no position to seek the party chairmanship for himself
(Can we
date
this quote?)
, Tony Alessandra,
The New Art of Managing People
[2]
, page
76
:
[
…
]
ethics officers themselves often complain that they can recommend but have little
clout
with which to create real change.
2011
December 15, Felicity Cloake, “How to cook the perfect nut roast”, in
Guardian
[3]
:
The chopped mushrooms add depth to both the Waitrose and the Go-Go Vegan recipe, but what gives the latter some real
clout
on the flavour front is a teaspoon of Marmite.
2017
, Kimetrius Foose (Lil Skies), Myron Goedhart (lyrics and music), “Fake”, performed by
Lil Skies
:
It's funny how they judge you when they see you made a change / I poured another four just to take away the pain / My friends weren't my friends, they was
[
sic
]
looking for some
clout
/ I had what they wanted so they always came around
2019
November 29, Taylor Lorenz, “Here’s What’s Happening in the American Teenage Bedroom”, in
New York Times
[4]
:
Rowan, like most teenagers on the internet, wasn’t after fame or money, though he made a decent amount ? at one point $10,000 a month and more, he said. What Rowan wanted was
clout
. On the internet,
clout
is a social currency that can be used to obtain just about anything. Rack up enough while you’re young, and doors everywhere begin to open.
- (
regional
,
informal
)
A
blow
with the hand.
1910
,
Katherine Mansfield
,
Frau Brenchenmacher Attends A Wedding
:
‘Such a
clout
on the ear as you gave me… But I soon taught you.’
1985
, Brian Daley,
Jinx on a Terran Inheritance
[5]
, page
338
:
One of her goons gave him a
clout
on the ear.
- (
baseball
,
informal
)
A
home run
.
2011
August 17,
Michael Vega
, “Triple double”, in
The Boston Globe
, page C1:
'... allowed Boston to score all of its runs on homers, including a pair of
clouts
by Jacoby Ellsbury ...'
- (
archery
)
The center of the
butt
at which
archers
shoot; probably once a piece of white cloth or a
nail
head.
c.
1587?1588
, [
Christopher Marlowe
],
Tamburlaine the Great.
[
…
]
The First Part
[
…
]
, 2nd edition, part 1, London:
[
…
]
[
R. Robinson for
]
Richard Iones,
[
…
]
, published
1592
,
→OCLC
; reprinted as
Tamburlaine the Great
(A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press,
1973
,
→ISBN
,
Act II, scene iv
:
For kings are
clouts
that euery man ?hoots at,
Our Crowne the pin that thou?ands ?eeke to cleaue.
c.
1595?1596
(date written), William Shakespeare, “
Loues Labour’s Lost
”, in
Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies
[
…
]
(
First Folio
), London:
[
…
]
Isaac Iaggard
, and
Ed
[
ward
]
Blount
, published
1623
,
→OCLC
,
[
Act IV, scene i
]
:
A’ must shoot nearer or he’ll ne’er hit the
clout
.
- (
regional
,
dated
)
A
swaddling
cloth.
1851
,
Herman Melville
,
Moby Dick
, Chapter 12:
When a new-hatched savage running wild about his native woodlands in a grass
clout
, followed by the nibbling goats, as if he were a green sapling; even then, in Queequeg’s ambitious soul, lurked a strong desire to see something more of Christendom than a specimen whaler or two.
- (
archaic
)
A
cloth
; a piece of cloth or
leather
; a
patch
; a
rag
.
c.
1596
(date written), William Shakespeare, “
The Life and Death of King Iohn
”, in
Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies
[
…
]
(
First Folio
), London:
[
…
]
Isaac Iaggard
, and
Ed
[
ward
]
Blount
, published
1623
,
→OCLC
,
[
Act III, scene iv
]
,
page
12
, columns
1?2
:
If I were mad, I ?hould forget my ?onne, / or madly thinke a babe of
clowts
were he; I am not mad: too well, too well I feele / The different plague of each clamitie.
c.
1599?1602
(date written), William Shakespeare, “
The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke
”, in
Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies
[
…
]
(
First Folio
), London:
[
…
]
Isaac Iaggard
, and
Ed
[
ward
]
Blount
, published
1623
,
→OCLC
,
[
Act II, scene ii
]
:
[
…
]
a
clout
upon that head
Where late the
diadem
stood
[
…
]
1743
,
Robert Drury
,
The Pleasant, and Surprizing Adventures of Mr. Robert Drury, during his Fifteen Years Captivity on the Island of Madagascar
[6]
, London, page
74
:
We condol’d with each other, and observ’d how wretchedly we look’d, all naked, except a small
Clout
about our Middles
[
…
]
1980
,
Colin Thubron
,
Seafarers: The Venetians
, page
33
:
The Byzantines, wrote
Robert of Clari
, hooted and jeered from the battlements, "and let down their
clouts
and showed them their backsides."
- (
archaic
)
An
iron
plate on an
axletree
or other wood to keep it from
wearing
; a
washer
.
1866
,
James Edwin Thorold Rogers
,
A History of Agriculture and Prices in England
, volume 1, page
546
:
Clouts
were thin and flat pieces of iron, used it appears to strengthen the box of the wheel; perhaps also for nailing on such other parts of the cart as were particularly exposed to wear.
- A
clout nail
.
- (
obsolete
)
A
piece
; a
fragment
.
Derived terms
[
edit
]
Translations
[
edit
]
archery: center of the butt
iron plate on an axletree or other wood to keep it from wearing
Verb
[
edit
]
clout
(
third-person singular simple present
clouts
,
present participle
clouting
,
simple past and past participle
clouted
)
(
transitive
)
- To
hit
(someone or something), especially with the
fist
.
[
1545
?
]
,
John Heywood
,
The Playe Called The Foure PP
[
…
]
, London:
[
…
]
Wyllyam Myddylton,
→OCLC
; reprinted as John S. Farmer, editor,
The Play Called The Four PP
[
…
]
(The Tudor Facsimile Texts), London; Edinburgh:
[
…
]
T. C. & E. C. Jack,
[
…
]
,
1908
,
→OCLC
,
signature [E.ii.], verso
:
The wolde ?ome may?ter perhappes
clowt
ye / But as for me ye nede nat doute ye / For I had leuer be without ye / Then haue ?uche be?yne??e aboute ye.
1997
,
J. K. Rowling
,
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
, New York: Arthur A. Levine Books, published
1998
, page
57
:
A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He'd spent his life being
clouted
by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they'd tried to lock him in his cupboard?
- To
cover
with cloth, leather, or other material; to
bandage
,
patch
, or
mend
with a clout.
1549
,
Hugh Latimer
, “
[
The Second Sermon of Master Hugh Latimer, which He Preached before the King’s Majesty, within His Grace’s Palace at Westminster, the Fifteenth Day of March, 1549.
]
To the Reader.”, in
George Elwes Corrie
, editor,
Sermons by Hugh Latimer, Sometime Bishop of Worcester, Martyr, 1555
(The Works of Hugh Latimer; I), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire:
[
…
]
University Press
, published
1844
,
→OCLC
,
page
110
:
Paul
, yea, and
Peter
, too, had more skill in mending an old net, and in
clouting
an old tent than to teach lawyers what diligence they should use in the expedition of matters.
- To
stud
with nails, as a
timber
, or a boot
sole
.
- To
guard
with an iron
plate
, as an
axletree
.
- To
join
or
patch
clumsily
.
1633
,
Phineas Fletcher
,
The Purple Island
:
if fond Bavius vent his
clouted
song
Translations
[
edit
]
hit, especially with the fist
Etymology 2
[
edit
]
Verb
[
edit
]
clout
(
third-person singular simple present
clouts
,
present participle
clouting
,
simple past and past participle
clouted
)
- Dated
form of
clot
.
1948
,
The Essex Review
:
He tells us how to butter eggs, boil eels,
clout
cream, stew capons, how to make a fine cake, an almond pudding and a raspberry conserve,
[
…
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
“
clout
”, in
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary
, Springfield, Mass.:
G. & C. Merriam
,
1913
,
→OCLC
.
- ^
“
clout
”, in
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
, Springfield, Mass.:
Merriam-Webster
, 1996?present.:
“
[
…
]
akin to Middle High German kl?z lump, Russian gluda
”
Middle English
[
edit
]
Etymology 1
[
edit
]
From
Old English
cl?t
, from
Proto-West Germanic
*kl?t
, from
Proto-Germanic
*kl?taz
. Compare
cloud
.
Alternative forms
[
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]
Pronunciation
[
edit
]
Noun
[
edit
]
clout
(
plural
cloutes
)
- A
(
smaller
)
piece
of fabric; a
shred
:
- A
patch
(
fabric for mending
)
.
- A
bandage
or
dressing
(
for wounds
)
- rag
,
tatter
(
piece of clothing
)
- A
(
larger
)
piece of
fabric
; a
cloth
:
- Threadbare or inferior
clothing
.
- Cloth for wrapping babies;
swaddling clothes
.
- A
burial
shroud
.
- A
washer
; a round metal panel.
- A
fragment
or
shred
.
- A
strike
,
blow
or
hit
.
Related terms
[
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]
Descendants
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- “
cl?ut,
n.(1).
”, in
MED Online
, Ann Arbor, Mich.:
University of Michigan
,
2007
.
- “
cl?ut,
n.(3).
”, in
MED Online
, Ann Arbor, Mich.:
University of Michigan
,
2007
.
Etymology 2
[
edit
]
Verb
[
edit
]
clout
- Alternative form of
clouten