claque
[ klak ]
/ klæk /
|
noun
a group of persons hired to applaud an act or performer.
a group of sycophants.
Nearby words
clapstick, clapt, clapton, clapton's line, claptrap, claque, claquer, claqueur, clar., clara, clarabella
Origin of claque
1860–65; < French, derivative of claquer to clap
Can be confusedclaque clique
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for claque
British Dictionary definitions for claque
claque
/ (klæk) /
noun
a group of people hired to applaud
a group of fawning admirers
Word Origin for claque
C19: from French, from claquer to clap, of imitative origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for claque
claque
1860, from French claque "band of claqueurs," agent noun from claquer "to clap" (16c.), echoic (cf. clap (v.)). Modern sense of "band of political followers" is transferred from that of "organized applause at theater." Claqueur "audience memeber who gives pre-arranged responses in a theater performance" is in English from 1837.
This method of aiding the success of public performances is very ancient; but it first became a permanent system, openly organized and controlled by the claquers themselves, in Paris at the beginning of the nineteenth century. [Century Dictionary]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper