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clap

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: cłap

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English clappen, from Old English clæppan, *clappian, from Proto-West Germanic *klappijan, *klappōn, from Proto-Germanic *klappōną (“to clap”). Cognate with Dutch klappen, Icelandic klappa, Faroese klappa and Danish klappe.

Noun

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clap (plural claps)

Two men clapping.
  1. The act of striking the palms of the hands, or any two surfaces, together.
    He summoned the waiter with a clap.
  2. The explosive sound of thunder.
    • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[[Episode 12: The Cyclops]]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:
      The deafening claps of thunder and the dazzling flashes of lightning which lit up the ghastly scene testified that the artillery of heaven had lent its supernatural pomp to the already gruesome spectacle.
    • 1953 July, Allen Rowley, “First Impressions of American Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 493:
      With each clap of thunder echoing from one high building to another the noise was terrific.
  3. Any loud, sudden, explosive sound made by striking hard surfaces together, or resembling such a sound.
    Off in the distance, he heard the clap of thunder.
    • 1731 (date written; published 1745), [Jonathan] Swift, Directions to Servants […], London: […] R[obert] Dodsley, […], and M. Cooper, […], →OCLC:
      Give the door such a clap, as you go out, as will shake the whole room.
  4. A slap with the hand, usually in a jovial manner.
    His father's affection never went further than a handshake or a clap on the shoulder.
  5. A single, sudden act or motion; a stroke; a blow.
  6. (falconry) The nether part of the beak of a hawk.
  7. (Yorkshire) A dropping of cow dung (presumably from the sound made as it hits the ground) [1]
    • 1890, John Nicholson, Folk Lore of East Yorkshire, page 139:
      “Oh! get some coo clap (cow dung), mix it wi’ fish oil (whale oil), put it on, and let it stop on all neet.”
Synonyms
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Derived terms
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Translations
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Verb

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clap (third-person singular simple present claps, present participle clapping, simple past and past participle clapped or (archaic) clapt)

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
  1. (intransitive) To strike the palms of the hands together, creating a sharp sound.
    Synonyms: applaud, beclap
    The children began to clap in time with the music.
  2. (transitive) To applaud.
    Synonyms: acclaim, applaud, hurrah; see also Thesaurus:cheer
    The audience loudly clapped the actress, who responded with a deep curtsey.
    It isn’t the singers they are clapping; it's the composer.
    • 1925, Agatha Christie, The Secret of Chimneys:
      “George is all very well on platforms,” said Bundle. “I’ve clapped him myself, though of course I know all the time that he’s talking balderdash.[…]”
  3. (transitive) To slap with the hand in a jovial manner.
    He would often clap his teammates on the back for encouragement.
  4. (ambitransitive) To bring two surfaces together forcefully, creating a sharp sound.
    He clapped the empty glass down on the table.
    She clapped the book shut.
    He clapped across the floor in his boots.
    • 1681, Andrew Marvell, The Garden:
      Then like a bird it sits and sings, / Then whets and claps its silver wings.
    • 1751, [Tobias] Smollett, “He is Concerned in a Dangerous Adventure with a Certain Gardener; […]”, in The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume I, London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC, page 134:
      […] Pipes, who acted as the enemy's forlorn hope, advanced to the gate with great intrepidity, and clapping his foot to the door, which was none of the ſtouteſt, with the execution and diſpatch of a petard, ſplit it into a thouſand pieces.
  5. (obsolete) To slam (a door or window); formerly often construed with to.
  6. (transitive) To create or assemble (something) hastily (usually followed by up or together).
    We should clap together a shelter before nightfall.
    The rival factions clapped up a truce.
  7. (transitive) To set or put, usually in haste.
    The sheriff clapped him in jail.
    She was the prettiest thing I'd ever clapped eyes on.
  8. (slang, African-American Vernacular) To shoot (somebody) with a gun.
  9. (slang) To have sex, fornicate, copulate.
  10. (transitive, slang) To defeat.
    He started a fight but then got clapped immediately.
Derived terms
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Translations
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See also

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Etymology 2

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Uncertain. Probably from Old French clapoir (“bubo, inflammation from infection”), from clapier (“brothel”). May also be from old, unsafe treatments for gonorrhea, such as clapping the penis between a book and a hard surface to break up obstructions in the urethra and permit urination. Attested from the 16th century.[2][3]

Noun

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clap

  1. (slang, usually with "the") Gonorrhea.
    • 1821 [1580 December 17], Alexander Montgomerie, “The Flyting”, in The Poems of Alexander Montgomery‎[1], page 115:
      With the mischiefe of the melt and maw, / The clape and the canker,—
    • 1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 172:
      I stepped out of my tent in Marrakech one night to get a bar of candy and caught your dose of clap when that Wac I never even saw before hissed me into the bushes.
    • 1972, Richard Hooker, MASH‎[2], page 32:
      “What in hell makes you think he's got the clap?” Hawkeye asked. “Even a clap doctor can't diagnose it through a parka
    • 1980, Ruth Bell, Changing Bodies, Changing Lives, page 295:
      He thought I had given him the clap [gonorrhea], but I knew I didn't.
    • 1991, Timothy Miller, The hippies and American values, University of Tennessee Press, →ISBN, page 63:
      One result of the sexual revolution was the spread of venereal disease to near-epidemic proportions. The clap was, as one writer put it, “one of the hangups of the new morality.”
    • 1998, Dan Savage, Savage Love, page 229:
      When I explained that I thought he had given me the clap, he said I must be mistaken, it had to be someone I'd “tricked” with at ... He'd never had an STD in his life, he told me, and slammed down the phone.
    • [2006, Alvin Silverstein, Virginia Silverstein, Laura Silverstein Nunn, The STDs Update, page 40:
      Gonorrhea, sometimes called the clap, is caused by a bacterium called Neisseria gonorrhoeae.]
Derived terms
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Translations
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References

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  1. ^ Edward Peacock, A Glossary of Words Used in the Wapentakes of Manley and Corringham, Lincolnshire, p 188
  2. ^ James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Clap”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.
  3. ^ “clap”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.

Anagrams

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Catalan

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Etymology

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Uncertain.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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clap m (plural claps)

  1. patch
  2. clearing, opening
    un clap de cel ― a break in the clouds

Derived terms

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Further reading

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French

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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clap m (plural claps)

  1. clapperboard

Middle English

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Etymology 1

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Noun

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clap

  1. alternative form of clappe

Etymology 2

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Verb

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clap

  1. alternative form of clappen

Occitan

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Etymology

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From Proto-Celtic *klappo.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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clap m (plural claps)

  1. stone
    Synonyms: pèira, ròc

Derived terms

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Welsh

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Borrowed from Middle English clappe.

Noun

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clap m (plural clapiau or claps, diminutive clepyn)

  1. clap, clack, slap
    Synonyms: clec, clep, slap
    1. mishap, booboo
      Synonym: aflwydd
  2. gossip, tattle
    Synonyms: clec, straeon, mân siarad
    1. telltale, tattler
      Synonyms: llechgi, straegi, clebryn
  3. lump, knob, node
    Synonyms: talp, cnap, cainc, cnot
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Borrowed from English clap.

Noun

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y clap m

  1. the clap, gonorrhea
    Synonym: gonorea

Mutation

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Mutated forms of clap
radical soft nasal aspirate
clap glap nghlap chlap

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

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  • D. G. Lewis, N. Lewis, editors (2005–present), “clap”, in Gweiadur: the Welsh–English Dictionary, Gwerin
  • R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “clap”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
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