Noun

(ascendancies)

The process or period of one's ascent

Supremacy; superiority; dominant control; the quality of being in the ascendant

* {{quote-news

, year=2011 , date=January 15 , author=Phil McNulty , title=Tottenham 0 - 0 Man Utd , work=BBC citation , page= , passage=Spurs ended the half in the ascendancy and Van der Vaart was again inches away from giving them the lead when he met Bale's cross but his header flew wide.}}

A class of Protestant landowners and professionals that dominated political and social life in Ireland up to the early 20th century

* [W. B. Yeats] belonged not to the ascendancy class but to the protestant bourgeoisie.'' – Terry Eagleton, ''New Left Review , 1975

Noun

(en noun)

Influence or effectiveness, especially political.

* {{quote-news

, year=2011 , date=December 15 , author=Felicity Cloake , title=How to cook the perfect nut roast , work=Guardian citation , page= , passage=The chopped mushrooms add depth to both the Waitrose and the Go-Go Vegan recipe, but what gives the latter some real clout on the flavour front is a teaspoon of Marmite. Vegetarian tweeter Jessica Edmonds tells me her boyfriend likes a similar recipe because "it tastes of Twiglets!". I'm with him – frankly, what's Christmas without a Twiglet? – but Annie Bell's goat's cheese has given me an idea for something even more festive. Stilton works brilliantly with parsnips, providing a savoury richness which feels a little more special than common or garden yeast extract. Blue cheese calls to mind the chestnuts used by Mary Berry of course, and now I'm on a roll, I pop in some sage and onion too, in a nod to the classic festive stuffing. }}

(regional, informal) A blow with the hand.

* 1910 , , Frau Brenchenmacher Attends A Wedding

'Such a clout on the ear as you gave me… But I soon taught you.'

(informal) A home run.

* 2011 , , "Triple double", in The Boston Globe , August 17, 2011, p. C1.

'... allowed Boston to score all of its runs on homers, including a pair of clouts by Jacoby Ellsbury ...'

(archery) The center of the butt at which archers shoot; probably once a piece of white cloth or a nail head.

* Shakespeare

A' must shoot nearer or he'll ne'er hit the clout .

(regional, dated) A swaddling cloth.

(archaic) A cloth; a piece of cloth or leather; a patch; a rag.

* Spenser

His garments, nought but many ragged clouts , / With thorns together pinned and patched was.

* Shakespeare

a clout upon that head where late the diadem stood

*

(archaic) An iron plate on an axletree or other wood to keep it from wearing; a washer.

* 1866 , , A History of Agriculture and Prices in England , Volume 1, p. 546.

Clouts were thin and flat pieces of iron, used it appears to strengthen the box of the wheel; perhaps also for nailing on such other parts of the cart as were particularly exposed to wear.

(obsolete) A piece; a fragment.

(Chaucer)