## Etymology
From Old English clūt 'small piece of cloth or metal, patch'; the sense 'a heavy blow' arose in Middle English, and the figurative 'influence' is a 20th-century American development.

## AI Etymology
Clout comes from Old English clūt 'small piece of cloth or metal, patch'; the sense 'a heavy blow' arose in Middle English, and the figurative 'influence' is a 20th-century American development. The historical trail runs through clūt in Old English. Used as a noun and verb, clout now means "influence or power; informally, a heavy blow", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as clouted. The word is therefore part of the inherited Germanic layer of English, even where later usage has narrowed, broadened, or specialized the sense.

## Topics
- Energy & Industry

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