ˈklōth verb
( clothed or clad ˈklad, -aa(ə)d ; clothed or clad ; clothing ; clothes ˈklō(th)z)
Etymology: Middle English clothen, from Old English clāthian, from clāth garment, cloth — more at cloth
transitive verb
1.
a. : to put garments on : cover with clothes
b. : to provide with clothes
trying to feed and clothe a family
c. obsolete : to hang or spread cloth over
they clothed the royal bed with purple
d. : to fit out
horses heavily clothed with armor
natives clothed in ritual beads
gold and diamonds to clothe their harlots
e. : to invest with the habit of a religious or the robes of a dignitary
to attend the clothing of two lay sisters
f. : rig
clothe a ship
clothe a mast
g. : to cover (carding equipment) with card clothing
h. : to cover (a seive in milling equipment) with silk or woven wire
i. : to house in an intimate protective sheath suggestive of a garment
a simple coffin to clothe the body of their friend — D.V.Steere
clothed in its complicated shell
2.
a. : to serve as a blanket overspreading the surface of especially as adding or emphasizing some visual effect
dense coniferous forests clothe the high bordering ridges — C.D.Forde
foothills clothed in magnificent jungle
b. : to cover or overspread the integument or exterior of
their bodies and wings densely clothed with hair
scales clothe its whole body
apple trees clothed in blossoms
3. : to express, convey, or enhance by suitably significant language : couch
treaties clothed in stately phraseology
the sweep of its ideas and the something akin to perfection of form in which they are clothed — H.J.Laski
4.
a. : to envelop, finish out, or flesh out
the roof and sides of the cavern begin to clothe themselves with that quivering violet sheen — Norman Douglas
to clothe the dry bones of the law
b. : to wrap or cloak especially in a way to provide delusion or borrow prestige
by no whit lessened his agitation, which he sought to clothe with a semblance of debonair indifference — Osbert Sitwell
clothe themselves in Bismarck's conception of a nation standing between East and West — M.W.Straight
c. : present , represent , portray
clothing its message in allegory
meticulously clothing the period with authenticity
: to present or represent through an illustrative or interpretive medium
her innate tact, clothed in tender warmth and naturalness — Marcia Davenport
5. : to endow especially with power or a quality
an act clothing Indians with United States citizenship
clothe a commission with power to fix utility rates
intransitive verb
archaic : to clothe oneself