English

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Etymology

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From Middle English clothing, clathing; equivalent to clothe +‎ -ing. Cognate with Scots cleeding, cleiding, cleading (clothing), Dutch kleding (clothing), German Kleidung (clothing), Danish klædning (clothing, dress, attire), Swedish klädning (dress). Doublet of the dialectal English term cleading, from Middle English clething; compare also cladding.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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clothing

  1. present participle and gerund of clothe

Noun

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A baby wearing many items of winter clothing: headband, cap, fur-lined coat, shawl and sweater

clothing (countable and uncountable, plural clothings)

  1. Any of a wide variety of articles, usually made of fabrics, animal hair, animal skin, or some combination thereof, used to cover the human body for warmth, to preserve modesty, or for fashion.
    Marco runs a clothing brand.
    You should wear warm clothing when it is cold outside.
    All but two pieces of clothing came out of the washing machine stained.
    A poncho is an item of clothing used by many people in Latin America.
    A shirt is an article of clothing that covers the torso and arms.
  2. An act or instance of putting clothes on.
    The clothing and unclothing of the idols was of special significance.
  3. (obsolete) The art or process of making cloth.
    • a. 1706 (date written), John Ray, “[Discourse II. Of the General Deluge in the Days of Noah, Its Causes and Effects.] That there have been Great Changes Made in the Superficial Part of the Earth since the General Deluge, and by What Means.”, in Three Physio-theological Discourses, [], 3rd edition, London: [] William Innys, [], published 1713, →OCLC, pages 241–242:
      [M]any of the poor diſtreſſed People, being bereft of their Habitation, came into England, vvhere the King, in Compaſſion of their Condition, and alſo, conſidering that they might be beneficial to his Subjects, by instructing them in the Art of Cloathing, firſt placed them about Carliſle in the North, and after removed them into South-VVales, vvhere their Poſterity hath ever ſince remained.
  4. A covering of non-conducting material on the outside of a boiler, or steam chamber, to prevent radiation of heat.[1]

Synonyms

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Hyponyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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See also

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Clothing-related terms

References

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  1. ^ Edward H[enry] Knight (1877) “Clothing”, in Knight’s American Mechanical Dictionary. [], volumes I (A–GAS), New York, N.Y.: Hurd and Houghton [], →OCLC.

Middle English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From clothen +‎ -ing.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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clothing (plural clothinges)

  1. What one wears; clothing, outfit, garments.
    1. A piece of clothes; an individual component of an outfit.
    2. The uniform or outfit associated with an occupation or position.
    3. (figurative) One's religious values and priorities.
    4. (figurative, rare) One's appearance or countenance.
  2. Linen or sheets used as a cover or a protective layer.
  3. The equipping or provision of garments.

Descendants

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  • English: clothing

References

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  NODES
Note 1