English

Noun

cloche ‎(plural cloches)

1. A glass covering, originally bell-shaped, for garden plants to prevent frost damage and promote early growth.
2. A bell-shaped, close-fitting women’s hat with a deep rounded crown and narrow rim.
3. A tableware cover, often resembling a bell.
4. (aviation, historical) An apparatus used in controlling certain aeroplanes, consisting principally of a steering column mounted with a universal joint at the base, which is bell-shaped and has attached to it the cables for controlling the wing-warping devices, elevator planes, etc.

Synonyms

• (hat): cloche hat

Translations

French

Etymology

From Medieval Latin clocca, from Gaulish *clocca (see also Welsh cloch, Irish clog), from imitative Proto-Indo-European *klak. Related to Old English clucge, Low German Klock ‎(“bell, clock”), German Glocke, Swedish klocka.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /klɔʃ/

Noun

cloche f ‎(plural cloches)

1. bell (metal apparatus used to produce sound)
2. A glass covering, originally bell-shaped, for garden plants to prevent frost damage and promote early growth.
3. A bell-shaped, close-fitting women’s hat with a deep rounded crown and narrow rim.
4. (colloquial) a clumsy person, an oaf

Adjective

cloche m, f ‎(plural cloches)

1. (colloquial) clumsy, stupid

Verb

cloche

1. first-person singular present indicative of clocher
2. third-person singular present indicative of clocher
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of clocher
4. first-person singular present subjunctive of clocher
5. second-person singular imperative of clocher

See also

• se taper la cloche

Italian

Noun

cloche f ‎(invariable)

1. joystick
2. gear lever (in a car)
3. cloche hat

Middle French

Etymology

Medieval Latin clocca

Noun

cloche f (plural cloches)

1. bell (metal apparatus used to produce sound)

Old French

Etymology

Medieval Latin clocca

Noun

cloche f ‎(oblique plural cloches, nominative singular cloche, nominative plural cloches)

1. bell (metal apparatus used to produce sound)

Spanish

Alternative forms

• clutch
• cloch

Noun

cloche m ‎(plural cloches)

1. clutch

Synonyms

• embrague