• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / Where does the word “Clapboard” come from and What does Clapboard mean in German?

Where does the word “Clapboard” come from and What does Clapboard mean in German?

July 6, 2020 by Karen Hill

Our English forebears just partly anglicized a German term back in the sixteenth century.

The word that came to them was klappholt, in which holt (modern Holz) meant “wood, board,” and klapp apparently referred to the clacking sound from boards smacking together.

This klappholt and the early clapboard was used by coopers in making casks and was later used for wainscots.

The American pilgrim, however, took the term and applied it to lengths of wood that he split much thinner.

These later evolved into boards thinner at one edge, so they would underlie the board above, affording greater protection against inclement weather.

Related Facts

  • How does the Pulitzer Prize Board pick Pulitzer Prize winners every year?
  • The History of the Dictionary
  • How does the Motion Picture Association of America rate movies?
  • How does Wood Smoke Cook and Flavor Food like Meat and Fish and What is a Mushikamado?
  • Where does the term “Cousin-German” come from and What does Cousin German mean?
  • Where does the term “German Silver” come from and What does German Silver mean?

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « How did the Arrowroot get its name and Where does the word Arrowroot come from?
Next Post: Where does the word “Guttersnipe” come from and What does Guttersnipe mean? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy