Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Cloth?

\Cloth\ (?; 115), n.; pl. {Cloths} (#; 115), except in the sense of garments, when it is {Clothes} (kl[=o]thz or kl[=o]z). [OE. clath cloth, AS. cl[=a][thorn] cloth, garment; akin to D. kleed, Icel. kl[ae][eth]i, Dan. kl[ae]de, cloth, Sw. kl["a]de, G. kleid garment, dress.] 1. A fabric made of fibrous material (or sometimes of wire, as in wire cloth); commonly, a woven fabric of cotton, woolen, or linen, adapted to be made into garments; specifically, woolen fabrics, as distinguished from all others. 2. The dress; raiment. [Obs.] See {Clothes}. I'll ne'er distust my God for cloth and bread. --Quarles. 3. The distinctive dress of any profession, especially of the clergy; hence, the clerical profession. Appeals were made to the priesthood. Would they tamely permit so gross an insult to be offered to their cloth? --Macaulay. The cloth, the clergy, are constituted for administering and for giving the best possible effect to . . . every axiom. --I. Taylor. {Body cloth}. See under {Body}. {Cloth of gold}, a fabric woven wholly or partially of threads of gold. {Cloth measure}, the measure of length and surface by which cloth is measured and sold. For this object the standard yard is usually divided into quarters and nails. {Cloth paper}, a coarse kind of paper used in pressing and finishing woolen cloth. -- Cloth {shearer}, one who shears cloth and frees it from superfluous nap.