clothe

clothe 是动词，主要指给人穿衣、提供衣物，也可指像给人披上衣服一样赋予某种抽象身份、力量或特征。

💡 记忆钩子

把 clothe 想成“披上一层衣物”：先是给身体穿上衣服，进一步也可以给某人披上权力、尊严等抽象的外衣。

📝 学习建议

先掌握“给某人穿衣或提供衣物”的具体意义，再理解其比喻意义；它不是单纯的“覆盖”或“装饰”。
不要把 clothe 和 cloth 混淆：clothe 是动词，cloth 是“布料、布”。

📖 中文释义

verb

core 给……穿衣；供给衣物

📖 指给某人穿上衣服，或为某人提供足够的衣物。它把“衣物披到身体上”和“让某人有衣服可穿”这两个意思连在一起。

💡 常用结构是 clothe somebody、clothe oneself，或 clothe a family。它可以表示实际穿衣，也可以表示长期供给衣物；描述日常“给孩子穿衣”时，dress 通常更自然，clothe 显得较正式。

transitive

The charity helps feed and clothe families in need.

这个慈善机构帮助为有需要的家庭提供食物和衣物。

She clothed herself in a simple black dress.

她给自己穿上了一条朴素的黑色连衣裙。
common 赋予抽象的外衣

📖 指像给人披上一件外衣那样，赋予某人权力、权威、尊严或其他抽象特征。这里不是实际穿衣，而是把某种身份或力量加到某人身上。

💡 常用结构是 clothe somebody with something，尤其搭配 authority、power 等抽象名词。这个比喻用法较正式，常见于书面语；不要把 with 后面的内容理解成实际衣物。

figuratively

The new law clothed the agency with greater authority.

这项新法律赋予了该机构更大的权力。

clothes present,singular,third-person clothing participle,present clothed participle,past clothed past clad archaic,participle,past clad archaic,past

📘 英文释义 (WordNet) 共 3 组

provide with clothes or put clothes on

同义词集: dress clothe enclothe garb raiment tog garment habilitate fit out apparel

Parents must feed and dress their child

反义: discase, disrobe, peel, strip, strip down, uncase, unclothe, undress 上位: change state, turn 下位: coat, corset, costume, cover, dress up, frock, gown, habit, jacket, prim, prim out, prim up, robe, shirt, shoe, vest, wrap up

cover as if with clothing

同义词集: clothe cloak drape robe

the mountain was clothed in tropical trees

上位: cover, spread over

furnish with power or authority; of kings or emperors

同义词集: invest clothe adorn

上位: equip, fit, fit out, outfit

🌳 词源

源自古英语，和 cloth（布料）同源，核心意象都与“衣物、覆盖”有关。

From Middle English clothen, from Old English *clāþian (“to clothe”), from Proto-Germanic *klaiþōną (“to clothe”), from Proto-Indo-European *gley- (“to adhere to, stick”). Cognate with Dutch kleden, German kleiden, Swedish kläda, after apocope klä. See also cloth, clad.

🔄 变式

clad archaic clothed past clothes present clothing present

🏷 单词标签 & 词根