Clapping your hands together loudly to show appreciation or approval for someone's performance or achievement.
From Latin 'applaudere' (ad- 'to' + plaudere 'to clap'), the word originally meant literally clapping hands at theatrical performances in ancient Rome. Over time it evolved to mean any expression of approval or praise.
Roman audiences invented the standing ovation! The word 'applause' comes straight from theatrical traditions 2,000 years old, and we still use the same hand-clapping gesture to show approval today—one of humanity's most unchanged forms of expression.
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