Clepe
Pronunciation
- IPA: /kliËp/
Origin
From Middle English clepen, clepien, from Old English cleopian, clipian ("to speak, cry out, call, summon, invoke, cry to, implore"), from Proto-Germanic *klipÅnÄ… ("to ring, sound"), from Proto-Indo-European *gal- ("to sound"). Cognate with Old Frisian klippa, kleppa ("to ring"), Dutch kleppen ("to toll, chatter"), Middle Low German kleppen ("to strike, sound"), Middle Low German kleperen ("to rattle").
Full definition of clepe
Verb
- (intransitive, archaic or dialectal) To give a call; cry out; appeal.
- (transitive, archaic or dialectal) To call; call upon; cry out to.
- (transitive, archaic or dialectal) To call to one's self; invite; summon.
- (transitive, archaic or dialectal) To call; call by the name of; name.
- 1385: Geoffery Chaucer, Troilus and Criseyde ,For that that som men blamen ever yit,
Lo, other maner folk commenden it.
And as for me, for al swich variaunce,
Felicitee clepe I my suffisaunce. - 1593: Shakespeare, ''She clepes him king of graves, and grave for kings,
Imperious supreme of all mortal things. - 1922: James Joyce, UlyssesAnd there came against the place as they stood a young learning knight yclept Dixon.
- 2001: Glen David Gold, Carter Beats the DevilWorld traveling sorcerer supreme Charles Carter, yclept Carter the Mysterious, has made a startling discovery that makes the news from Europe seem mild indeed.
- (intransitive, now chiefly dialectal) (often with on) To tell lies about; inform against (someone).
- (intransitive, now chiefly dialectal) To be loquacious; tattle; gossip.
- (transitive, now chiefly dialectal) To report; relate; tell.
Usage notes
The verb is obsolete, except in dialects or when used in the past participle yclept which is sometimes used as a deliberate archaism, or as an idiomatic set phrase: aptly yclept.