Etymology 1
From Middle English clappen , from Old English clæppan , from Proto-Germanic * klappōną . Cognate with Dutch klappen , Icelandic klappa , and Faroese klappa .
Noun
clap (plural claps )
Two men clapping.
The act of striking the palms of the hands, or any two surfaces, together.
He summoned the waiter with a clap .
The explosive sound of thunder .
1922 February, James Joyce , “[ [ Episode 12: The Cyclops] ] ”, in Ulysses , Paris: Shakespeare and Company , [ … ] , →OCLC :The deafening claps of thunder and the dazzling flashes of lightning which lit up the ghastly scene testified that the artillery of heaven had lent its supernatural pomp to the already gruesome spectacle.
Any loud, sudden, explosive sound made by striking hard surfaces together, or resembling such a sound.
Off in the distance, he heard the clap of thunder.
1731 (date written, published 1745 ), Jonathan Swift , “Directions to Servants ”, in Thomas Sheridan , John Nichols , editors, The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, [ … ] , new edition, volume XVI, London: [ … ] J[ oseph] Johnson , [ … ] , published 1801 , →OCLC :Give the door such a clap , as you go out, as will shake the whole room.
A slap with the hand, usually in a jovial manner.
His father's affection never went further than a handshake or a clap on the shoulder.
A single, sudden act or motion; a stroke; a blow.
c. 1603–1606 , William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies [ … ] (First Folio ), London: [ … ] Isaac Iaggard , and Ed[ ward] Blount , published 1623 , →OCLC , [ Act I, scene iv] :What, fifty of my followers at a clap !
( falconry ) The nether part of the beak of a hawk .
( Yorkshire ) A dropping of cow dung (presumably from the sound made as it hits the ground) [1]
1890 , John Nicholson, Folk Lore of East Yorkshire , page 139 :“Oh! get some coo clap (cow dung), mix it wi’ fish oil (whale oil), put it on, and let it stop on all neet.”
Translations
The act of striking the palms of the hands, or any two surfaces, together
Arabic: تَصْفِيق m ( taṣfīq )
Hijazi Arabic: صَفَّق m ( ṣaffag )
Armenian: ծափ (hy) ( capʻ )
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܟ̰ܲܦܵܐ m ( čāppa )
Baluchi: چاپ ( cáp )
Bulgarian: пляскане (bg) n ( pljaskane ) , ръкопляскане ( rǎkopljaskane )
Catalan: aplaudiment (ca)
Emilian: bāter
Faroese: klapping f , klappan f
German: Klatschen (de) n
Greek:
Ancient: κρότος m ( krótos )
Hebrew: מְחִיאַת כַּף (he) f ( meẖiát kaf )
Hungarian: taps (hu) , tapsol (hu)
Italian: battere (it) , pacca (it) f
Japanese: 手拍子 ( te-byōshi ) , 拍手 (ja) ( hakushu )
Macedonian: ракоплескање n ( rakopleskanje )
Malayalam: കൊട്ട് (ml) ( koṭṭŭ ) , കൈയ്യടി ( kaiyyaṭi ) , കൈകൊട്ട് ( kaikoṭṭŭ ) , കരഘോഷം ( karaghōṣaṁ )
Maori: pakipaki
Polish: klask m
Portuguese: palma (pt) f
Russian: хлопок (ru) ( xlopok ) , рукоплескание (ru) ( rukopleskanije )
Spanish: palma (es) , aplauso (es)
Telugu: కరతాళము (te) ( karatāḷamu )
Yoruba: pàtẹ́wọ́
Any loud, sudden, explosive sound
Verb
clap (third-person singular simple present claps , present participle clapping , simple past and past participle clapped or ( archaic ) clapt )
To strike the palms of the hands together, creating a sharp sound.
The children began to clap in time with the music.
To applaud .
The audience loudly clapped the actress, who responded with a deep curtsey.
It isn’t the singers they are clapping ; it's the composer.
To slap with the hand in a jovial manner.
He would often clap his teammates on the back for encouragement.
To bring two surfaces together forcefully, creating a sharp sound.
He clapped the empty glass down on the table.
She clapped the book shut.
He clapped across the floor in his boots.
1751 , [ Tobias] Smollett , “He is Concerned in a Dangerous Adventure with a Certain Gardener; [ … ] ”, in The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle [ … ] , volumes (please specify |volume=I to IV) , London: Harrison and Co., [ … ] , →OCLC , page 49 , column 1:[ ...] Pipes, who acted as the enemy's forlorn hope, advanced to the gate with great intrepidity, and clapping his foot to the door, which was none of the ſtouteſt, with the execution and diſpatch of a petard, ſplit it into a thouſand pieces.
( obsolete ) To slam (a door or window); formerly often construed with to .
c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, [ … ] ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies [ … ] (First Folio ), London: [ … ] Isaac Iaggard , and Ed[ ward] Blount , published 1623 , →OCLC , [ Act II, scene v] :Hostesse clap to the doores.
1677 (first performance), John Dryden , All for Love: Or, The World Well Lost. A Tragedy, [ … ] , [ London] : [ … ] Tho[ mas] Newcomb, for Henry Herringman , [ … ] , published 1678 , →OCLC , (please specify the page number) :The doors around me clapped .
1792 , Thomas Holcroft , Anna St. Ives , vol. VII, letter 119:Her fear gave her strength; she threw Laura away, and clapped to the door.
To create or assemble (something) hastily (usually followed by up or together ).
We should clap together a shelter before nightfall.
The rival factions clapped up a truce.
To set or put, usually in haste.
The sheriff clapped him in jail.
She was the prettiest thing I'd ever clapped eyes on.
( slang , African-American Vernacular ) To shoot (somebody) with a gun.
( slang ) To have sex , fornicate , copulate .
Translations
To strike the palms of the hands together
To applaud by clapping the hands
Arabic: صَفَّقَ ( ṣaffaqa )
Belarusian: пля́скаць ( pljáskacʹ )
Bulgarian: аплодирам (bg) ( aplodiram )
Catalan: aplaudir (ca)
Cherokee: ᏓᏏᏛᏂᎭ ( dasidvniha )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 拍手 (zh) ( pāishǒu ) , 鼓掌 (zh) ( gǔzhǎng )
Czech: tleskat (cs)
Dutch: applaudisseren (nl) , klappen (nl)
Esperanto: klaki , aplaŭdi
Finnish: taputtaa (fi)
French: applaudir (fr)
German: klatschen (de) , applaudieren (de)
Greek: χειροκροτώ (el) ( cheirokrotó )
Ancient: κροτέω ( krotéō )
Hebrew: מחא כפיים ( makhá kapayim )
Hindi: ताली बजाना ( tālī bajānā )
Hungarian: tapsol (hu)
Italian: applaudire (it)
Japanese: 拍手する (ja) ( はくしゅする, hakushu suru )
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: چەپڵە لێدان ( çeplle lêdan )
Macedonian: ракоплеска ( rakopleska ) , аплауди́ра ( aplaudíra )
Malayalam: കൈയ്യടിക്കുക ( kaiyyaṭikkuka ) , കൈകൊട്ടുക (ml) ( kaikoṭṭuka )
Maori: pakipaki
Polish: klaskać (pl) , bić brawo (pl) impf
Portuguese: aplaudir (pt)
Russian: аплоди́ровать (ru) ( aplodírovatʹ ) , хло́пать (ru) ( xlópatʹ )
Serbo-Croatian: pljeskati (sh)
Slovak: tlieskať
Slovene: ploskati (sl)
Spanish: aplaudir (es) , palmotear (es) , batir palmas , dar palmas , hacer palmas , ovacionar (es) , palmear (es)
Thai: ปรบมือ ( bpròp-mʉʉ ) , ตบมือ ( dtòp-mʉʉ )
Turkish: şak (tr)
Ukrainian: аплодува́ти (uk) impf ( aploduváty ) , плеска́ти impf ( pleskáty ) , рукоплеска́ти impf ( rukopleskáty )
To bring two surfaces together forcefully, creating a sharp sound
To create or assemble (something) hastily
To set or put, usually in haste
Etymology 2
Uncertain . Probably from Old French clapoir ( “ bubo , inflammation from infection” ) , from clapier ( “ brothel ” ) .
May also be from old, unsafe treatments for gonnorhea, such as clapping the penis between a book and a hard surface to break up obstructions in the urethra and permit urination. Attested from the 16th century.[2] [3]
Noun
clap
( slang , usually with "the" ) Gonorrhea .
1821 [ 1580 August 31] , Alexander Montgomerie , “The Flyting”, in The Poems of Alexander Montgomery , page 115 :With the mischiefe of the melt and maw, / The clape and the canker,—
1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 [ … ] , New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster , →OCLC , page 172 :I stepped out of my tent in Marrakech one night to get a bar of candy and caught your dose of clap when that Wac I never even saw before hissed me into the bushes.
1972 , Richard Hooker, MASH , page 32 :“What in hell makes you think he's got the clap ? ” Hawkeye asked. “Even a clap doctor can't diagnose it through a parka
1980 , Ruth Bell, Changing Bodies, Changing Lives , page 295 :He thought I had given him the clap [ gonorrhea] , but I knew I didn't.
1998 , Dan Savage, Savage Love , page 229 :When I explained that I thought he had given me the clap , he said I must be mistaken, it had to be someone I'd “tricked” with at ... He'd never had an STD in his life, he told me, and slammed down the phone.
[2006 , Alvin Silverstein, Virginia Silverstein, Laura Silverstein Nunn, The STDs Update , page 40 : Gonorrhea, sometimes called the clap , is caused by a bacterium called Neisseria gonorrhoeae . ]
References
Edward Peacock, A Glossary of Words Used in the Wapentakes of Manley and Corringham, Lincolnshire , p 188