Etymology

clique

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Today it means: 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. Full definition →

French clique
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clique · noun, proper noun, verb1

  1. French · borrowed fromclique“exclusive group of individuals; (archaic or obsolete) group of people hired to applaud or boo, claque”
  2. English todayclique

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.

Clique · proper noun2

Ellipsis of Skeleton Clique.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.