Standard Lemma guide

cloth

noun · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: klŏth
  • Received-Pronunciation: /klɒθ/
  • archaic, Received-Pronunciation: /klɔːθ/
  • Australian, British, Scotland, Southern, Standard: /klɔθ/
  • US: klôth
  • /klɔθ/ without the cot–caught merger
  • cot-caught-merger: /klɑθ/
  • General-American: cot-caught Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Canada: /klɒθ/
  • New-Zealand: /klɒθ/
  • New-Zealand: [klɔ̟θ]
  • obsolete: klōth
  • obsolete: /kloʊθ/
  • rhymes with -ɒθ
  • CMU ARPABET: K L AO1 TH Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A fabric, usually made of woven, knitted, or felted fibres or filaments, such as used in dressing, decorating, cleaning or other practical use. Sometimes, woven fabric specifically.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • Near-synonyms: (not always differentiated) fabric, material (fabric sense), textile; see also Thesaurus:fabric

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fabric, material, textile, cloth

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: material, matter, substance, stuff

2

noun

Meaning 2

Specifically, a tablecloth, especially as spread before a meal or removed afterwards.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A piece of cloth used for a particular purpose.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Substance or essence; the whole of something complex.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, figuratively, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Appearance; seeming.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, figuratively, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

A form of attire that represents a particular profession or status.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

The priesthood.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, idiomatic, uncountable, with-definite-article

Examples

  • He is a respected man of the cloth.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the fabric in the curtains was light and semitransparent
  • woven cloth originated in Mesopotamia around 5000 BC
  • she measured off enough material for a dress

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fabric, material, textile

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: artifact, artefact

Narrower terms: aba, acrylic, Aertex, alpaca, baize, basket weave, batik, batiste, belting, bombazine, boucle, broadcloth, brocade, buckram, bunting, calico, cambric, camel's hair, camelhair, camlet, camouflage, camo, canopy, canvas, canvass, cashmere, cerecloth, challis, chambray, chenille, chiffon, chino, chintz, coating, cobweb, cord, corduroy, cotton, cotton flannel, Canton flannel, crepe, crape, cretonne, crinoline, damask, denim, dungaree, jean, diamante, diaper, dimity, doeskin, drapery, duck, duffel, duffle, elastic, etamine, etamin, faille, felt, fiber, fibre, vulcanized fiber, flannel, flannelette, fleece, foulard, frieze, fustian, gabardine, georgette, gingham, grogram, grosgrain, haircloth, hair, herringbone, homespun, hopsacking, hopsack, horsehair, jaconet, jacquard, khadi, khaddar, khaki, knit, lace, lame, leatherette, imitation leather, linen, linsey-woolsey, lint, lisle, mackinaw, mackintosh, macintosh, madras, marseille, metallic, mohair, moire, watered-silk, moleskin, monk's cloth, moquette, moreen, motley, mousseline de sole, muslin, nankeen, net, network, mesh, meshing, meshwork, ninon, nylon, oilcloth, olive drab, organza, paisley, panting, trousering, pepper-and-salt, percale, permanent press, durable press, piece of cloth, piece of material, pilot cloth, pinstripe, pique, plush, polyester, pongee, poplin, print, quilting, rayon, rep, repp, sackcloth, sacking, bagging, sailcloth, samite, sateen, satin, satinet, satinette, screening, scrim, seersucker, serge, shag, shantung, sharkskin, sheeting, shirting, shirttail, silesia, silk, spandex, sponge cloth, stammel, suede cloth, suede, suiting, swan's down, taffeta, tammy, tapa, tappa, tapestry, tapis, tartan, plaid, terry, terry cloth, terrycloth, ticking, toweling, towelling, tweed, twill, upholstery material, Velcro, velour, velours, velvet, velveteen, vicuna, Viyella, voile, wash-and-wear, waterproof, web, webbing, whipcord, wincey, wire cloth, wool, woolen, woollen, worsted, yoke, pina cloth

History

Etymology

From Middle English cloth, clath, from Old English clāþ (“cloth, clothes, covering, sail”), from Proto-Germanic *klaiþą (“garment”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *gleyt- (“to cling to, cleave, stick”) (compare Albanian ngjit (“to stick, attach, glue”)), a form of *gleh1y- (“to smear; to stick”). Cognate with Scots clath (“cloth”), North Frisian klaid (“dress, garment”), Saterland Frisian Klood (“dress, apparel”), West Frisian kleed (“cloth, article of clothing”), Dutch kleed (“robe, dress”), Low German kleed (“dress, garment”), German Kleid (“gown, dress”), Danish klæde (“cloth, dress”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk klede, Swedish kläde (“cloth”), Icelandic klæði (“cloth, dressing”), Old English clīþan (“to adhere, stick”).

Across languages

Translations

254 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Acholi: boŋo — fabric
  • Arabic: قُمَاش (qumāš) — fabric
  • Arabic: أقمشة (ʔaqmiša) — fabric
  • Arabic: جوخ (gūḵ) — fabric
  • Arabic: قماشة (ʔumāša) — fabric
  • Arabic: قُماش (gumāš) — fabric
  • Armenian: կտոր (ktor) — fabric
  • Assamese: কাপোৰ (kapür) — fabric
  • Azerbaijani: parça — fabric
  • Azerbaijani: qumaş — fabric
  • Bangi: elamba — fabric
  • Bashkir: туҡыма (tuqıma) — fabric
  • Basque: mantar — fabric
  • Belarusian: ткані́на (tkanína) — fabric
  • Belarusian: сукно́ (suknó) — fabric
  • Bengali: কাপড় (kapoṛ) — fabric
  • Bulgarian: платно́ (platnó) — fabric
  • Bulgarian: су́кно (súkno) — fabric
  • Burmese: ပိတ် (pit) — fabric
  • Catalan: tela — fabric
  • Cherokee: ᎠᏄᏬ (anuwo) — fabric
  • Chinese Cantonese: 布 (bou3) — fabric
  • Chinese Mandarin: 布 (bù) — fabric
  • Chinese Mandarin: 布料 (bùliào) — fabric
  • Chinese Mandarin: 衣料 (yīliào) — fabric
  • Chinese Mandarin: 織物 /织物 (zhīwù) — fabric
  • Czech: látka — fabric
  • Czech: tkanina — fabric
  • Czech: plátno — fabric
  • Czech: sukno — fabric
  • Dalmatian: tial — fabric
  • Danish: stof — fabric
  • Danish: dug — fabric
  • Dutch: doek — fabric
  • Dutch: kleed — fabric
  • Esperanto: ŝtofo — fabric
  • Finnish: kangas — fabric
  • French: tissu — fabric
  • French: étoffe — fabric
  • Saterland Frisian: Klood — fabric
  • Friulian: tele — fabric
  • Georgian: ქსოვილი (ksovili) — fabric
  • German: Stoff — fabric
  • German: Tuch — fabric
  • Greek: ύφασμα (ýfasma) — fabric
  • Ancient Greek: ὕφασμα (húphasma) — fabric
  • Mbya Guarani: ajukue — fabric
  • Gujarati: કપડું (kapḍũ) — fabric
  • Hawaiian: ʻaʻa — fabric
  • Hawaiian: lole — fabric
  • Hebrew: בַּד (bad) — fabric
  • Hindi: कपड़ा (kapṛā) — fabric
  • Hindi: पारचा (pārcā) — fabric
  • Hungarian: ruha — fabric
  • Hungarian: ruhaanyag — fabric
  • Icelandic: klæði — fabric
  • Irish: éadach — fabric
  • Italian: stoffa — fabric
  • Italian: tessuto — fabric
  • Italian: tela — fabric
  • Japanese: 布 (nuno) — fabric
  • Kalenjin: sret — fabric
  • Kazakh: мата (mata) — fabric
  • Kazakh: кездеме (kezdeme) — fabric
  • Khmer: ខាន់ (khan) — fabric
  • Khmer: ក្រណាត់ (krɑɑnat) — fabric
  • Kikuyu: nguo — fabric
  • Korean: 천 (cheon) — fabric
  • Northern Kurdish: cil — fabric
  • Northern Kurdish: libas — fabric
  • Northern Kurdish: cilûberg — fabric
  • Kyrgyz: кездеме (kezdeme) — fabric
  • Lao: ຜ້າ (phā) — fabric
  • Latgalian: audaklys — fabric
  • Latgalian: drēbe — fabric
  • Latin: textilia — fabric
  • Latin: texta — fabric
  • Latvian: audums — fabric
  • Lingala: elamba — fabric
  • Luganda: olugoye — fabric
  • Luhya: engubo — fabric
  • Malay: kain — fabric
  • Manchu: ᠪᠣᠰᠣ (boso) — fabric
  • Māori: kaka — fabric
  • Mongolian: даавуу (daavuu) — fabric
  • Navajo: naakʼaʼatʼą́hí — fabric
  • Neapolitan: veste — fabric
  • Norwegian Bokmål: duk — fabric
  • Old Tupi: aoba — fabric
  • Old Uyghur: 𐽼𐽳𐽴 (böz) — fabric
  • Pashto: ټوکر (ṭukər) — fabric
  • Dari: پَارْچَه (pārča) — fabric
  • Dari: قُمَاش (qumāš) — fabric
  • Iranian Persian: پارْچِه (pârče) — fabric
  • Iranian Persian: قُماش (ġomâš) — fabric
  • Piedmontese: teila — fabric
  • Plautdietsch: Zeich — fabric
  • Polish: materiał — fabric
  • Polish: tkanina — fabric
  • Polish: sukno — fabric
  • Polish: płótno — fabric
  • Portuguese: pano — fabric
  • Portuguese: tecido — fabric
  • Rohingya: hoor — fabric
  • Romanian: pânză — fabric
  • Romanian: stofă — fabric
  • Russian: ткань (tkanʹ) — fabric
  • Russian: мате́рия (matérija) — fabric
  • Russian: сукно́ (suknó) — fabric
  • Sanskrit: अंशुक (aṃśuka) — fabric
  • Scots: cloot — fabric
  • Scottish Gaelic: aodach — fabric
  • Serbo-Croatian: тка̀нина — fabric
  • Serbo-Croatian: су́кно — fabric
  • Serbo-Croatian: tkànina — fabric
  • Serbo-Croatian: súkno — fabric
  • Shan: ၽႃႈ (phāa) — fabric
  • Slovak: látka — fabric
  • Slovak: plátno — fabric
  • Slovak: súkno — fabric
  • Slovene: blago — fabric
  • Lower Sorbian: sukno — fabric
  • Spanish: tela — fabric
  • Swahili: nguo — fabric
  • Swahili: vazi — fabric
  • Swedish: tyg — fabric
  • Sylheti: ꠇꠣꠙꠞ (xafor) — fabric
  • Tagalog: tela — fabric
  • Tajik: матоъ (mato') — fabric
  • Tajik: газвор (gazvor) — fabric
  • Tajik: порча (porča) — fabric
  • Tajik: қумош (qumoš) — fabric
  • Tamil: துணி (tuṇi) — fabric
  • Thai: ผ้า (pâa) — fabric
  • Turkish: kumaş — fabric
  • Ukrainian: ткани́на (tkanýna) — fabric
  • Ukrainian: сукно́ (suknó) — fabric
  • Urdu: کَپْڑَا (kapṛā) — fabric
  • Urdu: پارْچَہ (pārca) — fabric
  • Uzbek: mato — fabric
  • Uzbek: gazmol — fabric
  • Vietnamese: vải — fabric
  • Vietnamese: vải vóc — fabric
  • Walloon: stofe — fabric
  • Welsh: brethyn (woollen) — fabric
  • Welsh: lliain — fabric
  • Yiddish: געוועב (geveb) — fabric
  • Yup'ik: lumarraq — fabric
  • Arabic: مِمْسَحَة (mimsaḥa) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Armenian: շոր (šor) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Azerbaijani: əski — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Azerbaijani: cındır — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Belarusian: ану́ча (anúča) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Belarusian: ану́чка (anúčka) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Bulgarian: парца́л (parcál) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Catalan: drap — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Chinese Mandarin: 布 (bù) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Chinese Mandarin: 布料 (bùliào) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Czech: hadr — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Czech: prachovka — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Danish: tøj — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Danish: klæde — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Danish: klud — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Dutch: vod — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Esperanto: tuko — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Finnish: vaate — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Finnish: kangas — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • French: tissu — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • German: Tuch — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • German: Lappen — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Gothic: 𐍀𐌻𐌰𐍄 (plat) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Greek: ύφασμα (ýfasma) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Greek: πανί (paní) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Hebrew: בַּד (bad) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Irish: éadach — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Irish: ceirt — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Italian: panno — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Italian: straccio — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Italian: cencio — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Central Kurdish: پەڕۆ (perro) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Northern Kurdish: cil — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Northern Kurdish: libas — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Northern Kurdish: cilûberg — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Macedonian: крпа (krpa) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Mwani: nguo — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Navajo: naakʼaʼatʼą́hí — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Norwegian Bokmål: klut — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Norwegian Bokmål: stoff — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Old Tupi: aoba — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Pashto: ټوکر (ttukər) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Persian: پارچه (pârče) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Persian: قماش (qomâš) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Dari: پَارْچَه (pārča) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Dari: قُمَاش (qumāš) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Iranian Persian: پارْچِه (pârče) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Iranian Persian: قُماش (ġomâš) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Polish: szmata — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Portuguese: pano — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Romanian: cârpă — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Russian: тря́пка (trjápka) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Slovak: handra — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Slovak: prachovka — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Slovene: prt — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Slovene: krpa — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Slovene: cunja — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Spanish: pedazo de tela — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Spanish: trozo de tela — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Spanish: trapo — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Spanish: paño — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Spanish: contray — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Swahili: nguo — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Swedish: plagg — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Swedish: tygstycke — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Tagalog: retaso — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Talysh: پارچه (pârca) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Tamil: துணி (tuṇi) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Ukrainian: ганчі́рка (hančírka) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Yiddish: טוך (tukh) — piece of cloth for a particular purpose
  • Finnish: kudos — metaphoric: substance or essence
  • Finnish: asu — appearance, seeming
  • Spanish: facha — appearance, seeming
  • Spanish: fachada — appearance, seeming
  • Spanish: aire — appearance, seeming
  • Spanish: apariencia — appearance, seeming
  • Chinese Mandarin: 服裝 /服装 (fúzhuāng) — form of attire
  • Chinese Mandarin: 着裝 (zhuózhuāng) — form of attire
  • Chinese Mandarin: 裝束 /装束 (zhuāngshù) — form of attire
  • Finnish: puku — form of attire
  • Finnish: asu — form of attire
  • French: tenue — form of attire
  • Greek: στολή (stolí) — form of attire
  • Greek: ένδυμα (éndyma) — form of attire
  • Hebrew: תִּלְבֹּשֶׁת \ תלבושת (tilbóshet) — form of attire
  • Hebrew: מדים (madím) — form of attire
  • Italian: abbigliamento — form of attire
  • Italian: tonaca — form of attire
  • Italian: abito — form of attire
  • Italian: vestiario — form of attire
  • Italian: tenuta — form of attire
  • Central Kurdish: جل (cil) — form of attire
  • Central Kurdish: بەرگ (berg) — form of attire
  • Pashto: ټوکر (ṭukər) — form of attire
  • Russian: мунди́р (mundír) — form of attire
  • Russian: фо́рма (fórma) — form of attire
  • Spanish: traje — form of attire
  • Spanish: atuendo — form of attire
  • Spanish: indumentaria — form of attire
  • Spanish: ajuar — form of attire
  • Spanish: atavío — form of attire
  • Swahili: nguo — form of attire
  • Swedish: uniform — form of attire
  • Tagalog: damit — form of attire
  • Tamil: துணி (tuṇi) — form of attire
  • Danish: præstekjole — priesthood, clergy
Real reading context

cloth in complete knowledge articles