clout 1
(klout)n. Chiefly Midland US A piece of cloth, especially a baby's diaper.
[Middle English, cloth patch, shred of clothing, probably from Old English clūt.]
clout 2
(klout)n.1. a. Influence; pull: "Doctors have banded together into large negotiating groups in efforts to increase their clout" (George Anders).
b. Power; muscle.
2. A blow, especially with the fist.
3. a. Baseball A long powerful hit.
b. Sports An archery target.
tr.v. clout·ed,
clout·ing,
clouts To hit, especially with the fist.
[Middle English, back of the hand, slap, probably from clout, cloth patch, metal plate, fragment; see clout1.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
clout
(klaʊt) n1. informal a blow with the hand or a hard object
2. power or influence, esp in politics
3. (Archery)
archery a. the target used in long-distance shooting
b. the centre of this target
c. a shot that hits the centre
4. (Building) Also called: clout nail a short flat-headed nail used esp for attaching sheet metal to wood
5. dialect a. a piece of cloth: a dish clout.
b. a garment
c. a patch
vb (
tr)
6. informal to give a hard blow to, esp with the hand
7. (Knitting & Sewing) to patch with a piece of cloth or leather
[Old English clūt piece of metal or cloth, clūtian to patch (C14: to strike with the hand); related to Dutch kluit a lump, and to clod]
ˈclouter n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
clout
(klaʊt)
n. 1. a blow, esp. with the hand.
2. influence; pull.
3. a long hit in baseball.
4. the mark or target shot at in archery, esp. in long-distance shooting.
5. Dial. a piece of cloth.
v.t. 6. to hit or cuff.
[before 900; Middle English; Old English clūt piece of cloth or metal, c. Middle Dutch, Middle Low German klūte, Old Norse klūtr]
clout′er, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.