Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A close-fitting woman's hat with a bell-like shape.
  • noun A usually bell-shaped cover, used chiefly to protect plants from frost.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An obsolete form of clutch.
  • noun A bell-jar or bell-glass under which plants are grown.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun a woman's close-fitting helmetlike hat.
  • noun a low transparent cover put over young plants to protect them from cold.
  • noun (Aëronautics) An apparatus used in controlling certain kinds of aëroplanes, and consisting principally of a steering column mounted with a universal joint at the base, which is bellshaped and has attached to it the cables for controlling the wing-warping devices, elevator planes, and the like.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A glass covering, originally bell-shaped, for garden plants to prevent frost damage and promote early growth.
  • noun A bell-shaped, close-fitting women’s hat with a deep rounded crown and narrow rim.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a low transparent cover put over young plants to protect them from cold
  • noun a woman's close-fitting hat that resembles a helmet

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from Old French, bell, from Medieval Latin clocca; see clock.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

French cloche ("bell"), from Medieval Latin clocca ("bell")

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Examples

  • Listen: Hear the word cloche pronounced Download cloche.wav

    cloche - French Word-A-Day 2006

  • Listen: Hear the word cloche pronounced Download cloche.wav

    French Word-A-Day: 2006

  • Listen: Hear the word cloche pronounced Download cloche. wav

    French Word-A-Day: 2006

  • Listen: Hear the word cloche pronounced Download cloche. wav

    French Word-A-Day: 2006

  • Listen: Hear the word cloche pronounced Download cloche. wav

    cloche - French Word-A-Day 2006

  • Around here, "cloche" is just a fancy word meaning used milk jug or used 2 liter bottle.

    Simple Pleasures 2009

  • She chose to sport a classic "cloche" hat, which was originally based on the shape of a flower pot!

    Splendicity 2009

  • [18: 39] Prokofy Neva: is it like "cloche" or what

    Second Thoughts 2009

  • Around here, "cloche" is just a fancy word meaning used milk jug or used 2 liter bottle.

    Simple Pleasures 2009

  • Men in knickerbocker breeches, seersucker jackets, one-piece bathing costumes and straw boaters lounged under shady groves with female companions who translated the flapper look through cloche hats, feathered headpieces, drop-waist dresses and strands of pearls.

    A Picnic for Modern Gatsbys 2011

Comments

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  • "In her book How to Eat, the celebrity chef Nigella Lawson dismisses concerns about long-distance transport thus:

    'If you live in the Tuscan hills, you may find different lovely things to eat every month of the year, but for us it would mean having to subsist half the time on a diet of tubers and cabbage, so why shouldn't we be grateful that we live in the age of jet transport and extensive culinary imports? More smug guff is spoken on this subject than almost anything else.'

    Lawson's requirement for asparagus in October plainly takes precedence over other people's requirement for survival. But she also betrays a limited imagination. Rocket, lamb's lettuce, purslane, winter cos, land cress, kale, leeks, chicory, pak choi, choi sum, mizuna, komatsuna, mooli, winter savory, coriander, parsley, chervil, spring onions, spinach, sorrel and chard will grow through the winter in the United Kingdom. Some need cold frames or cloches to protect them from the lowest temperatures, but none requires a heated greenhouse."

    - 'Heat', George Monbiot.

    February 19, 2008

  • "She rested her head on her arms and looked back at him over her shoulder, the cloche hat shading her face to the chin."

    - Frank O'Connor, 'Don Juan's Temptation'.

    September 5, 2008

  • This is the stupidest word they could have put on here, I mean seriously, who where's bell shaped hats this century?? I needed to know this why third down, sad.

    March 14, 2010

  • That reminds me, I need to buy a new hat. Another cloche would be perfect.

    March 14, 2010

  • Cloche hats are elegant! I don't wear them personally, being rather of the male persuasion, but I would instantly approve any wearing of such.

    March 14, 2010

  • I think we should all wear cloches. In fact, it's time to establish International Cloche Day.

    March 14, 2010

  • I'm all for Cloche Day. Anything for an excuse to buy a new hat. And any excuse to get men out of their ubiquitous baseball caps. Is there an entry for baseball cap? It should be tagged "tiresome".

    March 15, 2010

  • Right on ah. The cloche deserves its day, and it would be a better world if frat boys wore them.

    I'm still trying to figure out who "they" are.

    March 15, 2010

  • If everyone wore them cloche would be cliche. Can't have that.

    March 15, 2010

  • I haven't the cash for a cloche. And I'd feel crushed if it clashed.

    March 16, 2010

  • I'm in the market for a cloche.

    December 2, 2010

  • J'aime, j'aimerai, j'ai le coeur si gai

    D'entendre sonner, branler les

    cloches de l'amour Oh gai!

    I love, I will love, my heart is full of happiness to hear the bells of love ringing!

    Words to the traditional French Canadian song L'Oranger/The Orange Tree

    December 2, 2010