A burdock plant or its prickly seedhead that sticks to clothing and fur.
From Old English 'clate,' related to Germanic words for 'burr' or 'bur.' The word may derive from an Indo-European root meaning 'to stick' or 'to cling,' evolving to describe any sticky or clinging plant part.
Medieval people used the word 'clote' so commonly that it appeared in folk sayings and plant lore—burdocks were everywhere and impossible to ignore once they latched onto your clothes, which is exactly why the plant inspired the invention of Velcro in the 1950s!
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