clothesn.

Etymology: The original plural of cloth n. < Old English clá-ðas, Middle English clō-thes; the ō remaining in the (originally) open syllable, and the þ becoming ð between vowels, as in clothe verb, clothing, etc., and subsequently changing final s to z: compare truth, truths, staff, staves, etc. As the singular cloth is not now used in the sense of ‘a garment’, and has received a new plural cloths for its extant sense, clothes remains a collective plural, without a singular; to express the latter, a phrase, such as ‘article of clothing’, or another word, such as ‘garment’, is used. The distinction cloths , clothes , is chiefly of the 19th cent. The ordinary 18th cent. spelling was cloaths (pronounced with ð), as in cloath = clothe v. For clothes , cloath(e)s = cloths, see cloth n. Almost immediately after the reduction of the Middle English dissyllabic form to one syllable, by change of -es to -s, the ð began to disappear in pronunciation in all the dialect types, as shown by the spellings close, cloes, etc. ( < clothes), clase, clais(e, claes, etc. (from northern clathes), clese ( < clethes). These forms are still dialectal, and close/kləʊz/ is frequent as a nonstandard pronunciation of clothes. All these phenomena are paralleled in other Germanic dialects, e.g. Middle High German kleit, plural kleider, Middle Dutch cleet, plural clêde, East Frisian klêd, plural klêr (for klêder), West Frisian klaed, plural klean, North Frisian klâid, plural klûe, Saterland klâth, plural klôder, Wangeroog klêt, plural klôder. Examples of the reduced plural:a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. vi. 61 Mete and foode, And close to body.1516 in T. Stapleton Plumpton Corr. (1839) Introd. 124 To beare the charge of hir close.c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 774 Vppon clese.1553 Inv. Ch. Goods, Staff in Ann. Dioc. Lichf. (1863) 16 ij alter close.1563 T. Gale Certaine Wks. Chirurg. iv. ii. f. 26 Warme cloese.1673 Overseer's Acc. in Canterb. Press 27 June 7/3 To Mr. frind for cloes for willan parker.1729 J. Swift Grand Quest. 138 Molly and I have thrust in our nose To peep at the Captain in all his fine clo'es.1842 R. H. Barham Sir Rupert in Ingoldsby Legends 2nd Ser. 32 Cover'd ankles and toes, In other respects she was scanty of clothes.