Cloths

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Cloth \Cloth\ (kl[o^]th; 115), n.; pl. {Cloths} (kl[o^][th]z;
     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[aum]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.
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     2. The dress; raiment. [Obs.] See {Clothes}.
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              I'll ne'er distust my God for cloth and bread.
                                                    --Quarles.
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     3. The distinctive dress of any profession, especially of the
        clergy; hence, the clerical profession.
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              Appeals were made to the priesthood. Would they
              tamely permit so gross an insult to be offered to
              their cloth?                          --Macaulay.
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              The cloth, the clergy, are constituted for
              administering and for giving the best possible
              effect to . . . every axiom.          --I. Taylor.
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     {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.
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