# clothe

Pronunciation: say "KLOHTH" US /ˈkloʊð/, UK /ˈkləʊð/

## Verb

1. To dress someone, or to supply a person with the clothes they need to wear.
   - Simple: To put clothes on someone, or to give them clothes to wear.
   - _Charities raced to clothe the refugees before winter set in._
   - _The monastery clothed and fed every traveler who knocked at its gate._
2. To cover or surround something completely, as though wrapping it in a garment.
   - Simple: To cover something all over, the way clothes cover a body.
   - _Ivy and moss clothe the ruined abbey walls in green._
   - _Mystery clothed the stranger's every word and gesture._

## Origin

From Middle English clothen, from Old English *clāþian ("to clothe"), going back through Proto-Germanic *klaiþōną to a Proto-Indo-European root *gley- ("to adhere to, stick"). It is related to Dutch kleden, German kleiden, and Swedish kläda, as well as to the words cloth and clad.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/clothe (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).