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clique

Pronunciation: /kliːk/

The English word “clique” has 6 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A small, exclusive group of individuals, usually having some common characteristic such as lifestyle or social status, or common purpose; specifically one formed for disreputable purposes, or which purports to be an authority on a particular matter; a cabal.
  2. A subgraph isomorphic to a complete graph.
  3. A group of related websites that link to each other, like a webring but with exclusive membership determined by the clique owner.
  4. An informal faction in the Republic of China (1912–1949) led by one or more warlords exercising regional control through local armed forces (particularly during the Warlord Era); a regional junta.

verb

  1. To form a clique (“small, exclusive group of individuals, usually having some common characteristic”; noun sense 1); to associate with others in a clannish way.
  2. To act with others secretly to gain a desired end; to plot, to scheme.

Etymology

The noun is borrowed from French clique (“exclusive group of individuals; (archaic or obsolete) group of people hired to applaud or boo, claque”), from cliquer (“to clap; to clack, to click”), ultimately of imitative origin. The proper noun and verb are derived from the noun.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.