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English Wikipedia has an article on:
A man in a cloak

Alternative forms[edit]


From Middle English cloke, from Old Northern French cloque (travelling cloak), from Medieval Latin clocca (travelers' cape, literally “a bell”, so called from the garment’s bell-like shape), of Celtic origin, from Proto-Celtic *klokkos-, ultimately imitative.

Doublet of clock.


  • (file)
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈkloʊk/
  • Rhymes: -əʊk


cloak (plural cloaks)

  1. A long outer garment worn over the shoulders covering the back; a cape, often with a hood.
  2. A blanket-like covering, often metaphorical.
    Night hid her movements with its cloak of darkness.
  3. (figuratively)  That which conceals; a disguise or pretext.
    1611, The Holy Bible, [] (King James Version), London: [] Robert Barker, [], OCLC 964384981, 1 Thessalonians 2:5:
    For neither at any time vsed wee flattering wordes, as yee knowe, nor a cloke of couetousnesse, God is witnesse:
    No man is esteemed any ways considerable for policy who wears religion otherwise than as a cloak.
  4. (Internet) A text replacement for an IRC user's hostname or IP address, making the user less identifiable.

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See also[edit]


cloak (third-person singular simple present cloaks, present participle cloaking, simple past and past participle cloaked)

  1. (transitive) To cover as with a cloak.
  2. (transitive, figuratively) To hide or conceal.
  3. (science fiction, transitive, intransitive) To render or become invisible via futuristic technology.
    The ship cloaked before entering the enemy sector of space.

Derived terms[edit]