| Part of Speech | Definition | |
| Noun | 1. The cloth which covers a coach box.[Websters]. | |
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Date "HAMMERCLOTH" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1828. (references) |
| Etymology:Hammercloth \Ham"mer*cloth`\ , noun. [Probably from Dutch hemel heaven, canopy, tester (akin to German himmel, and perhaps also to English heaven) English cloth; or perhaps corruption of hamper cloth.]. (references) |
Specialty Definition: HAMMERCLOTH
| Domain | Definition | ||
| Noah Webster | [Noun] The cloth which covers a coach-box, so called from the old practice of carrying a hammer, nails, &c. in a little pocket hid by this cloth.. Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary. | ||
| Literature | Hammercloth The cloth that covers the coach-box, in which hammer, nails, bolts, etc., used to be carried in case of accident. Another etymology is from the Icelandic hamr (a skin), skin being used for the purpose. A third suggestion is that the word hammer is a corruption of "hammock," the seat which the cloth covers being formed of straps or webbing stretched between two crutches like a sailor's hammock. Still another conjecture is that the word is a corruption of "hamper cloth," the hamper being used for sundry articles required, and forming the coachman's box. The word box seems to favour this suggestion. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. | ||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | Top | ||
