# claque
## English
### Etymology

Borrowed from French claque (“group of people hired to applaud or boo, claque”, literally “a slap; a clap”).

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA: /ˈklæk/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* Homophone: clack
* Rhymes: -æk

### Noun

claque (plural claques)
* (collective) A group of people hired to attend a performance and to either applaud or boo.
** 1930 February 23, “Theatre claqueurs in Vienna form union; now get two Wienerwursts for simple applause, six with beer for special ovations”, in The New York Times‎, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 28 July 2021, page 4, column 1:The most popular singers have been obliged to give free tickets and even to donate cash, lest the claque retaliate by frantic applause at the wrong moment.
** 1957 December 22, John Briggs, “What every young claqueur should know”, in The New York Times‎, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 28 July 2021, page 53, columns 4–7:The claque isn't paid. In fact, claqueurs pay to get in. The inducement is that they can buy standing room for half price, without waiting in line.
* (by extension)
** A group of fawning admirers.
*** 1981 December 5, Michael Bronski, “Coming (Out) to Opera”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 20, page 6:The most obvious gay connection to opera is the cult of the diva. Stauncher even than the fans of Garland of Striesand, the claques of Maria Callas and Joan Sutherland (among others) have been fanatical in their devotion. Going beyond the usual "appreciation stage" the fans glorify and deify their stars: Callas was "La Divina," Sutherland "La Stupenda."
** A group of people who pre-arrange among themselves to express strong support for an idea, so as to give the false impression of a wider consensus.

#### Related terms

* claqueur

#### See also

* clique (another type of ingroup with biased interests)
* astroturf

### References

* ↑ “claque, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2021.
* ↑ “claque, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

### Further reading

* claque on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

### Anagrams

* calque

## French
### Etymology

Deverbal from claquer (“to clap”). Sense 5 developed as paying audience members to applaud started at the Paris Opera.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /klak/
* Audio:(file)
* Audio (Canada):(file)

### Noun

claque f (plural claques)
* slap on the cheek
    Synonyms: gifle, baffe, taloche
* vamp (of a shoe)
* (Quebec) overshoe
    Synonyms: shoe claque, chouclaque
* (sports) thrashing; thumping (heavy defeat)
* (collective) claque (group of people hired to either applaud or boo)

### Noun

claque m (plural claques)
* (slang) gambling den
* (slang) whorehouse, brothel

#### Derived terms

* en avoir sa claque
* prendre ses cliques et ses claques
* tête à claques

#### Descendants

* → Catalan: claca
* → English: claque
* → German: Claque
* → Italian: claque
* → Portuguese: claque
* → Spanish: claque

### References

* ↑ “claque, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

### Further reading

* “claque”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

### Anagrams

* calque

## Italian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French claque.

### Noun

claque f (invariable)
* claque

#### Related terms

* clacchista

### Further reading

* claque in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

## Portuguese
### Etymology

Borrowed from French claque.

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /ˈkla.ki/
* (Brazil) IPA: /ˈkla.ki/
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /ˈkla.ke/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ˈkla.kɨ/
* Hyphenation: cla‧que

### Noun

claque f (plural claques)
* (Portugal, sports) supporters (people who support something, especially a sports team)
    Synonym: (Brazil) torcida

### References

* ↑ “claque”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
* ↑ “claque”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

## Spanish
### Etymology

Borrowed from French claque.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈklake/ [ˈkla.ke]
* Rhymes: -ake
* Syllabification: cla‧que

### Noun

claque f (plural claques)
* claque

### Further reading

* “claque”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10