clove
English · Français
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
clove¹
- /kləʊv/ UK
- /kloʊv/ US
Rhymes with -əʊv
Where it comes from
From Middle English clove, an alteration of earlier clowe, borrowed from the first component of Old French clou (de girofle) (modern French clou de girofle), from Latin clāvus (“nail”) for its shape. Also see clāva (“knotty branch, club”). Doublet of clou and clavus.
noun cloves
- A very pungent aromatic spice, the unexpanded flower bud of the clove tree.
- A clove tree, of the species Syzygium aromaticum (syn. Caryophyllus aromaticus), native to the Moluccas (Indonesian islands), which produces the spice.
- An old English measure of weight, containing 7 pounds (3.2 kg), i.e. half a stone. Seven pounds make a clove, 2 cloves a stone, 2 stone a tod, 6+¹⁄₂ tods a wey, 2 weys a sack, 12 sacks a last. The 'Pathway' points out the etymology of the word cloves; it calls them ' claves or nails.' It is to be observed here that a sack is 13 tods, and a tod 28 pounds, so that the sack is 364 po
clove²
- /kləʊv/ UK
- /kloʊv/ US
Rhymes with -əʊv
Where it comes from
From Middle English clove, from Old English clufu, from Proto-West Germanic *klubu, from Proto-Germanic *klubō, related to clēofan (“to cleave, split”), hence with the verbal etymology hereafter.
noun cloves
- One of the small bulbs that make up the large, compound bulb in garlic, shallots, or similar plants. clove of garlic, garlic clove, clove of a sea-onion, clove of shallot, cloves of bulbs
- A segment or natural division of a fruit. [W]e hurried by […] past the meatfaced woman, a butcher's dame, nuzzling thirstily her clove of orange.
clove³
- /kləʊv/ UK
- /kloʊv/ US
Rhymes with -əʊv
verb
- simple past of cleave
clove⁴
- /kləʊv/ UK
- /kloʊv/ US
Rhymes with -əʊv
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Dutch klove (now kloof). Doublet of kloof.
noun cloves
- A narrow valley with steep sides.
Translations
Every language
noun spice
| Español | clavo de olor, clavo, girofle, jirofle, clavillo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 정향나무 jeonghyangnamu |
| 日本語 | クローブ kurōbu, 丁子 chōji, 丁字 chōji |
| 中文 | 丁香 dīngxiāng |
| हिन्दी | लौंग lauṅg, लवंग lavaṅg |
| Kiswahili | karafuu |
| Português | cravo, cravo-da-índia, cravinho, girofle |
| Français | clou de girofle |
| Deutsch | Gewürznelke |
| Italiano | chiodo di garofano |
| Ελληνικά | γαρύφαλλο garýfallo |
| Română | cuișoare |
| Русский | гвозди́ка gvozdíka |
| Tiếng Việt | đinh hương |
| العربية | قَرَنْفُل qaranful |
| עברית | צִפֹּרֶן tzippóren |
noun Syzygium aromaticum
| Español | clavero, girofle, jirofle |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | チョウジノキ chōji-no-ki, 丁子 chōji, チョウジ chōji |
| 中文 | 丁子香 dīngzǐxiāng, 雞舌香 /鸡舌香 jīshéxiāng |
| हिन्दी | लौंग lauṅg, लवंग lavaṅg |
| Kiswahili | mkarafuu |
| Français | giroflier, girofle |
| Русский | гвозди́чное де́рево gvozdíčnoje dérevo |
noun constitutive bulb of garlic
| Español | diente |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 瓣 bàn |
| Português | dente |
| Français | gousse |
| Deutsch | Zehe, Knoblauchzehe |
| Italiano | spicchio |
| Ελληνικά | σκελίδα skelída |
| Română | cățel |
| Tiếng Việt | tép |
| العربية | فَصّ faṣṣ |
| עברית | שֵׁן שׁוּם shen shum, שִׁנֵּי שׁוּם shinéy shum |
Talk about this word "clove." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/clove. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. clove. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/clove "clove." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/clove.Cite this
@misc{clove_2026,
title = {clove},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/clove},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
