cloak

C1 Topic:Clothing & Appearance

US /ˈkloʊk/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like clock /ɑ/ vs /oʊ/ Sounds like croak /l/ vs /r/

Freq #9979

Meanings

1

noun
A long, loose outer garment worn over the shoulders, often with a hood.

She wrapped a heavy wool cloak around herself before stepping into the snow.
2

verb
To hide or disguise something.

The company tried to cloak its losses behind clever accounting.
3

noun
Something that hides or covers, often used figuratively.

The thieves worked under the cloak of darkness.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 verb · to hide or disguise something. conceal mask

Word family

Forms cloakedcloakingcloaks

Derived forms becloakcloak-and-daggercloak-and-swordercloakablecloakedcloaklesscloakletcloaklikecloakmakercloakmakingcloakroomcloakwise

Related forms burnooseburnousburnouse

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

opera cloak
a large cloak worn over formal evening clothes

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Cloak comes from Old French cloke, a variant of cloche, “bell.” The garment acquired the name from its bell-like shape, and the word ultimately derives from medieval Latin clocca, “bell,” also the source of clock.

Etymology

From Middle English cloke, from Old Northern French cloque (“travelling cloak”), from Medieval Latin clocca (“travelers' cape, literally “a bell”, so called from the garment’s bell-like shape”), of Celtic origin, from Proto-Celtic *klokkos, ultimately imitative. Doublet of cloche and clock.

cloke Middle English cloque fro-nor clocca la-med *klokkos Proto-Celtic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Clothing & Appearance

External links

# cloak

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈkloʊk/
**Frequency rank:** 9979

## Meanings
1. A long, loose outer garment worn over the shoulders, often with a hood.
2. To hide or disguise something.
3. Something that hides or covers, often used figuratively.

## Examples
- She wrapped a heavy wool cloak around herself before stepping into the snow.
- The company tried to cloak its losses behind clever accounting.
- The thieves worked under the cloak of darkness.

## Derived Forms
- becloak
- cloak-and-dagger
- cloak-and-sworder
- cloakable
- cloaked
- cloakless
- cloaklet
- cloaklike
- cloakmaker
- cloakmaking
- cloakroom
- cloakwise

## Related Forms
- burnoose
- burnous
- burnouse

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: cloke
- Root: cloque
- Root: clocca
- Root: *klokkos

## Etymology
From Middle English cloke, from Old Northern French cloque (“travelling cloak”), from Medieval Latin clocca (“travelers' cape, literally “a bell”, so called from the garment’s bell-like shape”), of Celtic origin, from Proto-Celtic *klokkos, ultimately imitative. Doublet of cloche and clock.

## AI Etymology
Cloak is from Middle English cloke, from Old Northern French cloque (“travelling cloak”), from Medieval Latin clocca (“travelers' cape, literally “a bell”, so called from the garment’s bell-like shape”), of Celtic origin, from Proto-Celtic *klokkos, ultimately imitative. Doublet of cloche and clock. Important historical forms include Middle English cloke, fro-nor cloque, Medieval Latin clocca, and Proto-Celtic *klokkos. In present-day use, it can mean a long, loose outer garment worn over the shoulders, often with a hood, or to hide or disguise something.

## Topics
- Clothing & Appearance

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