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   Clout

   /klout/

   

   noun

   • 1. a heavy blow with the hand or a hard object: informal "a clout on the ear" Similar smackslapthumppunchblowhitknockbangcuffboxspankingspanktapclipinformal:whackwallopclobberingsock
   • 2. influence or power, especially in politics or business: informal "I knew he carried a lot of clout" Similar influencepowerpullweightswayleveragecontrolsaymasterydominancedominationadvantageauthorityprestigestandingstaturerankinformal:teethbeefmuscle
   • 3. a piece of cloth or clothing, especially one used as a patch. archaic
   • 4. a target used in long-distance shooting, placed flat on the ground with a flag marking its center.
   • ▪ a shot that hits a clout.

   verb

   • 1. hit hard with the hand or a hard object: informal "I clouted him on the head"
   • 2. mend with a patch: archaic "he helps the women clout their pans"

   Word Origin Old Englishclūt (in the sense ‘a patch or metal plate’); related to Dutch kluit ‘lump, clod’, also to cleat and clot. The shift of sense to ‘heavy blow’, which dates from late Middle English, is difficult to explain; possibly the change occurred first in the verb (from ‘put a patch on’ to ‘hit hard’).

   Scrabble Points: 7

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