Clothed

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈkləʊðd/

Definitions

1. Having garments or clothing on the body
2. Dressed in attire that covers the skin
3. Covered with fabric or clothing suitable for wear

Etymology: "Clothed" is the past participle and adjective of "clothe", which is itself built from the noun "cloth" with a verb-making ending. The verb arrived in English through an older shape: "clothe" came from "cloth" plus a suffix that turned the noun into an action, so to clothe someone was originally to put cloth on them. The noun "cloth" goes back to Old English, and its root reaches far back into the Germanic and Indo-European past. The "-ed" ending on "clothed" is the regular past-tense and participle marker that English shares with its Germanic relatives. Over the centuries it stuck to the verb until "clothed" could stand on its own as an adjective describing a person already wearing garments. The -ed form therefore records a finished state: a body that has had cloth put on it and still wears it.

Synonyms: dressed, garbed, attired

Antonyms: naked, undressed