beclap means to grasp, insnare, ensnare, catch, to trap suddenly, to grab suddenly.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, beclap ranks #993 of 42,747 for Qualifying.
Etymology
From Middle English biclappen (“to grasp, insnare, catch, to trap suddenly, to grab suddenly”). By surface analysis, be- + clap.
verb
- To grasp, insnare, ensnare, catch, to trap suddenly, to grab suddenly.e.g.“He so besmouched her, and she so beclapped him, and there tumbling together, as merrie as they would wish, I sighed to thinke, what a supper they would haue after break-fast.” — 1605, Tourneur, Worldes Folly:
- To clap for; to applaud.e.g.“No one is so beclapped as the author of a popular drama bowing over his own footlights; the artists and romancers of the daily press are modester than they themselves would be willing to admit.” — 1886, The Nation, volume 43, page 414:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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