CLOUT
punch, clout, poke, lick, biff, slug
(noun) (boxing) a blow with the fist; “I gave him a clout on his nose”
pull, clout
(noun) special advantage or influence; “the chairman’s nephew has a lot of pull”
clout
(noun) a target used in archery
clout
(verb) strike hard, especially with the fist; “He clouted his attacker”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Noun
clout (countable and uncountable, plural clouts)
Influence or effectiveness, especially political.
(regional, informal) A blow with the hand.
(baseball, informal) A home run.
(archery) The center of the butt at which archers shoot; probably once a piece of white cloth or a nail head.
(regional, dated) A swaddling cloth.
(archaic) A cloth; a piece of cloth or leather; a patch; a rag.
(archaic) An iron plate on an axletree or other wood to keep it from wearing; a washer.
(obsolete) A piece; a fragment.
Verb
clout (third-person singular simple present clouts, present participle clouting, simple past and past participle clouted)
To hit, especially with the fist.
To cover with cloth, leather, or other material; to bandage, patch, or mend with a clout.
To stud with nails, as a timber, or a boot sole.
To guard with an iron plate, as an axletree.
To join or patch clumsily.
Etymology 2
Verb
clout (third-person singular simple present clouts, present participle clouting, simple past and past participle clouted)
Dated form of clot.
Source: Wiktionary
Clout, n. Etym: [AS. clut a little cloth, piece of metal; cf. Sw.
klut, Icel. klutr a kerchief, or W. clwt a clout, Gael. clud.]
1. A cloth; a piece of cloth or leather; a patch; a rag.
His garments, nought but many ragged clouts, With thorns together
pinned and patched was. Spenser.
A clout upon that head where late the diadem stood. Shak.
2. A swadding cloth.
3. A piece; a fragment. [Obs.] Chaucer.
4. The center of the butt at which archers shoot; -- probably once a
piece of white cloth or a nail head.
A'must shoot nearer or he'll ne'er hit the clout. Shak.
5. An iron plate on an axletree or other wood to keep it from
wearing; a washer.
6. A blow with the hand. [Low] Clout nail, a kind of wrought-iron
nail heaving a large flat head; -- used for fastening clouts to
axletrees, plowshares, etc., also for studding timber, and for
various purposes.
Clout, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Clouted; p. pr. & vb. n. Clouting.] Etym:
[OE. clutien. clouten, to patch. See Clout, n.]
1. To cover with cloth, leather, or other material; to bandage;
patch, or mend, with a clout.
And old shoes and clouted upon their feet. Josh. ix. 5.
Paul, yea, and Peter, too, had more skill in . . . clouting an old
tent than to teach lawyers. Latimer.
2. To join or patch clumsily.
If fond Bavius vent his clouted song. P. Fletcher
3. To quard with an iron plate, as an axletree.
4. To give a blow to; to strike. [Low]
The . . . queen of Spain took off one of her chopines and clouted
Olivarez about the noddle with it. Howell.
5. To stud with nails, as a timber, or a boot sole. Clouted cream,
clotted cream, i. e., cream obtained by warming new milk. A. Philips.
Note: "Clouted brogues" in Shakespeare and "clouted shoon" in Milton
have been understood by some to mean shoes armed with nails; by
others, patched shoes.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition