To strike or hit repeatedly; to cover with clouts or blows.
From 'be-' plus 'clout' (meaning a blow or piece of cloth used for patching); evolved from meaning to patch with cloth to meaning to hit or strike.
The word 'clout' itself is fascinating because it meant both 'a blow' and 'a patch of cloth'—in some dialects, both meanings existed simultaneously, showing how one word can hold contradictory origins.
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