clothe

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.

verb

  1. (transitive) To adorn or cover with clothing; to dress; to supply clothes or clothing.
    to feed and clothe a family; to clothe oneself extravagantly
    1478, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue, 101-104, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Canterbury_Tales/General_Prologue 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.
    Go with me to clothe you as becomes you. c. 1590-92, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, act IV, scene ii
  2. (figurative) To cover or invest, as if with a garment.
    to clothe somebody with authority or power
    His sides are clothed with waving wood. 1726, John Dyer, Grongar Hill

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