Cliquet, cliquette

Cliquet, cliquette (Fr.) [cliquer, to make a noise], Fr. term for clapper, in use from the 14th c. It formerly designated the clappers by which lepers announced their presence. Trichet, ca. 1640, says that they consisted of 3 pieces of wood, a long one and 2 shorter ones either played like “bones” or attached at one end. Nowadays we understand a handle clapper by this term, with 2 shorter pieces of wood hinged to a longer, central one provided with a handle (96, 190, 204). Sort…