Word of the Day: Claque

Merriam-Webster Word of the Day

claque \KLAK\ noun

1 : a group hired to applaud at a performance
*2 : a group of sycophants

Example sentence:
The most popular girl in school was routinely accompanied by a claque of hangers-on.

Did you know?
The word "claque" might call to mind the sound of a clap, and that's no accident. "Claque" is a French borrowing that descends from the verb "claquer," meaning "to clap," and the noun "claque," meaning "a clap." Those French words in turn originated in imitation of the sound associated with them. English speakers borrowed "claque" in the 19th century. At that time, the practice of infiltrating audiences with hired members was very common to French theater culture. Claque members received money and free tickets to laugh, cry, shout — and of course clap — in just the right spots, hopefully influencing the rest of the audience to do the same.

and from January 7th:

coterie \KOH-tuh-ree\ noun

: an intimate and often exclusive group of persons with a unifying common interest or purpose

Example sentence:
Dorothy Parker belonged to a literary coterie known as the Algonquin Round Table, whose members were legendary for their terse, acerbic writing.

Did you know?
In the days of feudalism in France, a "coterie" was a group of peasants who jointly held a parcel of land. These "tenants in common" were named from the Old French word for a peasant who occupies a cottage and a bit of land — a "cotier." Such associations of country people inspired later French speakers to use "coterie" more broadly and apply it to other kinds of clubs and societies. By the time the word began appearing in English texts in the 1730s, its meaning had been extended to refer to any circle of people who spent a great deal of time together, who shared the same basic attitudes, and who held a passion for some particular topic — in other words, to any tight-knit group.