Category:Clog

Clog, n. Etym: [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.

clog Clog, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Clogged; p. pr. & vb. n. Clogging.]

1. To encumber or load, especially with something that impedes motion; to hamper. The winds of birds were clogged with ace and snow. Dryden.

2. To obstruct so as to hinder motion in or through; to choke up; as, to clog a tube or a channel.

3. To burden; to trammel; to embarrass; to perplex. The commodities are clogged with impositions. Addison. You 'll rue the time That clogs me with this answer. Shak.

Syn. -- Impede; hinder; obstruct; embarrass; burden; restrain; restrict.

clog Clog, v. i.

1. To become clogged; to become loaded or encumbered, as with extraneous matter. In working through the bone, the teeth of the saw will begin to clog. S. Sharp.

2. To coalesce or adhere; to unite in a mass. Move it sometimes with a broom, that the seeds clog not together. Evelyn.