clique
[kleek, klik]
- a small, exclusive group of people; coterie; set.
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- Informal. to form, or associate in, a clique.
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Origin of clique
1705–15; < French, apparently metaphorical use of Middle French clique latch, or noun derivative of cliquer to make noise, resound, imitative word parallel to click1
Synonym study
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
clan, cabal, coterie, faction, posse, gang, mob, Mafia, lobby, set, crowd, club, camp, outfit, crew, crush, society, bunch, organization, circleExamples from the Web for clique
Contemporary Examples
How ironic that the Hermit Kingdom is taking the blame for our first real look inside a clique that not even Vice dares penetrate.
A clique of GOP lawmakers say the debt ceiling crisis is a hoax.
How about the totally Beltwayized and out of touch with America clique versus the people who retain some remnants of common sense?
Not surprisingly, their clique is designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and other organizations.
So keeping with the high school metaphor, what clique would you roll with?
Historical Examples
This clique is the most variously and most curiously composed.
Diary from November 12, 1862, to October 18, 1863Adam Gurowski
The "clique" will take no less than a modest fortune, hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Against OddsLawrence L. Lynch
I wish to leave the clique for reasons of my own, and to do this I must have money.
Against OddsLawrence L. Lynch
It may be guessed that Haldimand was not a popular governor with the English clique.
Canada: the Empire of the NorthAgnes C. Laut
Liquor was the only bond which held the clique together there.
When Life Was YoungC. A. Stephens
clique
- a small, exclusive group of friends or associates
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Word Origin
C18: from French, perhaps from Old French: latch, from cliquer to click; suggestive of the necessity to exclude nonmembers
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 clique
n.
1711, "a party of persons; a small set, especially one associating for exclusivity," from obsolete French clique, originally (14c.) "a sharp noise," also "latch, bolt of a door," from Old French cliquer "click, clatter, crackle, clink," 13c., echoic. Apparently this word was at one time treated in French as the equivalent of claque (q.v.) and partook of that word's theatrical sense.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper