claus

name

1. A male given name from Dutch or from German [in turn from Ancient Greek].
2. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis)Ellipsis of Santa Claus.

   “More exacting standards for Claus have been set up each year. It was to meet these standards that Mr. Howard—farmer, toy manufacturer, reviver of county fairs and connoisseur of Santa Clauses—set up his school.”

   “Wouldn’t it be great if we taught our children about Christ instead of Claus: […]”

   “For nearly 30 years, Santa has traveled past every house in town.”

   “The cause of Claus’ incident — perhaps morning fog, wind or faulty directions to the North Pole — remains unclear.”

3. Fictitious surname of Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus.

   “[…] bringing you a merry Christmas program right from the North Pole where the Claus family holds court […] Santa Claus in person, Mrs. Claus, and Little Claus.”

   “As Cory and Suzy hurried down the steps to greet the Clauses, the elves were rolling up the legs of their pants and running down to the water’s edge. Santa and Mrs. Claus laughed when they saw them and were still chuckling as they started toward the house.”

   “Arthur lives at the North Pole. His dad is Santa Claus. His granddad used to be Santa Claus before his dad became Santa Claus. […] But along for the ride is Grandpa Claus (who’s 136 years old and he is retired).”

   “Klaus came first. He was fourteen, the oldest of the Clauses’ four children. We all knew he would inherit the title of Santa one day—he always dressed in red-and-white suits to make sure we never forgot.”

   “In Merry in Laws (2012), scientist Alex (Kassia Warshawski) introduces her parents to her fiancé, Peter (Lucas Bryant), and his parents, Santa Claus (George Wendt) and Mrs. Claus (Shelley Long). Alex’s father, Steven (Greg Lawson), comments derisively about the Clauses: “These people are light years away from who we are,” implying, seemingly, that he considers the Clauses as intellectually (if not also psychologically) inferior.”

4. A surname from Dutch or from German [in turn from Ancient Greek].

   “The best fiction about World War II has come from the home front, from those who were children in 1939, not quite innocent bystanders, like Gunter Grass and Christa Wolf and now Hugo Claus, the leading writer of the Netherlands and Flemish-speaking Belgium. […] Mr. Claus's wonderful novel is a chronicle of war in a corner of one small country and a painstaking portrait of the artist as an obnoxious young man.”

   “Life has grown easier for Santa Michael Claus, a 44-year-old technician with the Southwestern Bell Corporation in Dallas. In his youth, he shied away from his name, red suits, beards and children carrying wish lists. That has all changed. "I enjoy it -- it's fun to be a little bit of a name this time of year," said Mr. Claus, who explains to children that he is not the real Santa, just his namesake.”

   “According to Cindy Claus, head aquarist at Jenkinson’s, the arrival of the 29-inch juvenile Sandtiger shark marks the completion of the aquarium’s effort to replace the animals lost last month. […] Ms. Claus said the two Nurse sharks were placed in the exhibit tank the Thursday before Memorial Day Weekend so visitors to the aquarium over the busy weekend would have something to see.”