clothes definition

English clothes definition

Etymology 1

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 Kleidung.

Alternative forms

• cloathes (obsolete)
• clotheses (nonstandard, childish)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /kləʊ(ð)z/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /kloʊ(ð)z/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• Homophone: close (when /ð/ is omitted)
• Rhymes: -əʊðz, -əʊz

Noun

clothes pl (plural only)

1. (plural only) Items of clothing; apparel.
   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 6, in The China Governess‎^[1]:

     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.

2. (obsolete) plural of cloth.
3. The covering of a bed; bedclothes.
   • 1717, Matthew Prior, The Dove

     She turned each way her frighted head, / Then sunk it deep beneath the clothes.

4. Laundry (hung on a clothesline).

Derived terms

Descendants

• Sranan Tongo: krosi

Translations

See also

• clothing
• gear
• threads
• habiliment

Etymology 2

clothe +‎ -s

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /kləʊðz/
• (US) IPA^(key): /kloʊðz/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊðz

Verb

clothes

1. Third-person singular simple present indicative form of clothe

References

• clothes in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• clothes at OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• cholest., closeth

Middle English clothes definition

Alternative forms

• clathes, cloþes

Noun

clothes

1. plural of cloth

Descendants

• English: clothes
• Scots: clathes, claes, clais, claise