Middle English Dictionary Entry
clǒur n.
Entry Info
| Forms | clǒur n. |
| Etymology | ?A blend of cloud hill, ground & colǒur appearance. The word is rare, except in rime. |
Definitions (Senses and Subsenses)
1.
A knoll or mound; sward, sod; under cloures, under ground [?cp. under cloudes]; closed under ~, buried.
Associated quotations
- a1450(a1387) PPl.A(2) (RwlPoet 137)12.100 : Deþ..drof him to þe erþe, And [he] is closed vnder clour.
- c1450(a1449) Lydg.SSecr.(Sln 2464)1314 : This veer..The sesoun Ordeyned taraye with newe Clours [rime: shours], As gardeyns, Erbys.
- c1450(a1449) Lydg.SSecr.(Sln 2464)1341 : The silver dewh..hath spred his bawme On bankys & on clours [rime: flours].
- a1450 Castle Persev.(Folg V.a.354)241 : Þou I be clay & clad, clappyd vndir clowris.
- a1450 Castle Persev.(Folg V.a.354)980 : Whanne Mankynde is castyn, undyr clouris to crepe.
- ?c1450 Iff a man (Stockh 10.90)326/785 : Baldmonye..Of alle erbys þat growyn in clour, Most bitter I holde his sawour.
- c1475(a1449) Lydg.OFools (LdMisc 683)52 : A goselyng that greseth on bareyn clours [vr. clowrys].
Supplemental Materials (draft)
Note: For the reading 'clour' in the example from Piers Plowman (where editions generally read 'clom'), see M. Vaughan, "Where Is Wille Buried? Piers Plowman A 12.105," Yearbook of Langland Studies 25 (2011), 131-136.