clothev.

Etymology: There are two types of this verb, both rare in Old English: α. Old English cláðian , of which the past participle gecláded for geclaðed , -od occurs. Hence Middle English clāthe , clothe (the former retained in north dialect), inflected clathed , clothed . β. Old English clǽðan , with past tense clǽðde , *clædde , whence Middle English cladde , clad , and probably the northern type clethe , cledde , cled (formerly referred to Norse klæða ): see clead n. The former belongs to a type *klaiþôjan , the latter to *klaiþjan , both < *klaiþo ^m (or ? klaiþoz- ) a cloth n. Compare Middle High German and modern German kleiden, Low German, Dutch kleeden, East Frisian klêden. Old Norse had klæða, going with the Old Norse form of the noun klæði. Both forms of the past tense and participle have come down to modern use. Clod, occasionally found in 16–17th cent. was either a late shortening of cloth'd, cloath'd, or a mixture of these with clad. The form yclad, very rare in Middle English, was revived by the Elizabethan archaists, after whom it has become a ‘Spenserian’ form in later poets.