\Cloth\ (?; 115), n.; pl. {Cloths} (#; 115), except in the
sense of garments, when it is {Clothes} (kl[=o]thz or
kl[=o]z). [OE. clath cloth, AS. cl[=a][thorn] cloth, garment;
akin to D. kleed, Icel. kl[ae][eth]i, Dan. kl[ae]de, cloth,
Sw. kl["a]de, G. kleid garment, dress.]
1. A fabric made of fibrous material (or sometimes of wire,
   as in wire cloth); commonly, a woven fabric of cotton,
   woolen, or linen, adapted to be made into garments;
   specifically, woolen fabrics, as distinguished from all
   others.
2. The dress; raiment. [Obs.] See {Clothes}.
         I'll ne'er distust my God for cloth and bread.
                                               --Quarles.
3. The distinctive dress of any profession, especially of the
   clergy; hence, the clerical profession.
         Appeals were made to the priesthood. Would they
         tamely permit so gross an insult to be offered to
         their cloth?                          --Macaulay.
         The cloth, the clergy, are constituted for
         administering and for giving the best possible
         effect to . . . every axiom.          --I. Taylor.
{Body cloth}. See under {Body}.
{Cloth of gold}, a fabric woven wholly or partially of
   threads of gold.
{Cloth measure}, the measure of length and surface by which
   cloth is measured and sold. For this object the standard
   yard is usually divided into quarters and nails.
{Cloth paper}, a coarse kind of paper used in pressing and
   finishing woolen cloth. -- Cloth
{shearer}, one who shears cloth and frees it from superfluous
   nap.