A weight, such as a block, attached to the leg of an animal to hinder movement.
A heavy, usually wooden-soled shoe.
v.
clogged, clog·ging, clogs
v.
tr.
To obstruct movement on or in; block up: Heavy traffic clogged the freeways.
To hamper the function or activity of; impede: "attorneys clogging our courts with actions designed to harass state and local governments"(Roslyn L. Anderson and Patricia L. Irvin).
v.
intr.
To become obstructed or choked up: The pipes had clogged with rust.
To thicken or stick together; clot.
To do a clog dance.
[Middle English, block attached to an animal's leg.]
c.1325, clogge "a lump of wood," origin unknown. The sense of "wooden-soled shoe" is first recorded 1416, probably originally meaning the wooden sole itself. The sense of "hinder" is from 1398, originally by fastening a block of wood to something; meaning "choke up" is 17c.
Clay\ (kl[=a]), n. [AS. cl[=ae]g; akin to LG. klei, D. klei, and perh. to AS. cl[=a]m clay, L. glus, gluten glue, Gr. gloio`s glutinous substance, E. glue. Cf. Clog.]1. A soft earth, which is plastic, or may be molded with the hands, consisting of hydrous silicate of aluminium. It is the result of the wearing down and decomposition, in part, of rocks containing aluminous minerals, as granite. Lime, magnesia, oxide of iron, and other ingredients, are often present as impurities. 2. (Poetry & Script.) Earth in general, as representing the elementary particles of the human body; hence, the human body as formed from such particles. I also am formed out of the clay. --Job xxxiii. 6. The earth is covered thick with other clay, Which her own clay shall cover. --Byron. Bowlder clay. See under Bowlder. Brick clay, the common clay, containing some iron, and therefore turning red when burned. Clay cold, cold as clay or earth; lifeless; inanimate. Clay ironstone, an ore of iron consisting of the oxide or carbonate of iron mixed with clay or sand. Clay marl, a whitish, smooth, chalky clay. Clay mill, a mill for mixing and tempering clay; a pug mill. Clay pit, a pit where clay is dug. Clay slate (Min.), argillaceous schist; argillite. Fatty clays, clays having a greasy feel; they are chemical compounds of water, silica, and aluminia, as halloysite, bole, etc. Fire clay, a variety of clay, entirely free from lime, iron, or an alkali, and therefore infusible, and used for fire brick. Porcelain clay, a very pure variety, formed directly from the decomposition of feldspar, and often called kaolin. Potter's clay, a tolerably pure kind, free from iron.
Clog\, n. [OE. clogge clog, Scot. clag, n., a clot, v., to to obstruct, cover with mud or anything adhesive; prob. of the same origin as E. clay.]1. That which hinders or impedes motion; hence, an encumbrance, restraint, or impediment, of any kind. All the ancient, honest, juridical principles and institutions of England are so many clogs to check and retard the headlong course of violence and opression. --Burke. 2. A weight, as a log or block of wood, attached to a man or an animal to hinder motion. As a dog . . . but chance breaks loose, And quits his clog. --Hudibras. A clog of lead was round my feet. --Tennyson. 3. A shoe, or sandal, intended to protect the feet from wet, or to increase the apparent stature, and having, therefore, a very thick sole. Cf. Chopine. In France the peasantry goes barefoot; and the middle sort . . . makes use of wooden clogs. --Harvey. Clog almanac, a primitive kind of almanac or calendar, formerly used in England, made by cutting notches and figures on the four edges of a clog, or square piece of wood, brass, or bone; -- called also a Runic staff, from the Runic characters used in the numerical notation. Clog dance, a dance performed by a person wearing clogs, or thick-soled shoes. Clog dancer.
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