conclave
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conclave
- /ˈkɒnkleɪv/ UK
- /ˈkɒŋ-/ UK
- /ˈkɑnˌkleɪv/ US
- /ˈkɑŋ-/ US
Where it comes from
PIE word
*ḱóm
The noun is derived from Late Middle English conclave (“private chamber; (Roman Catholicism) private room where election of the Pope takes place; meeting held for this purpose”), borrowed from Middle French conclave (modern French conclave), or directly from its etymon Latin conclāve (“chamber, room; enclosed space that can be locked; dining hall”), from con- (prefix denoting a being or bringing together of several objects) (combining form of cum (“(along) with”)) + clāvis (“key”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w- (“(noun) crook, hook; peg; (verb) to close”)).
The verb is derived from the noun.
noun conclaves
- The set of apartments in which cardinals are secluded while the process to elect a pope takes place. On Friday, St. John's Day, the 27th of December, the cardinals entered the conclave. […] Two hours before nightfall, the whole body met again in a chapel within the conclave, and after the bull of pope Julius [II] against simoniacal practices had been read, every cardinal, in the presence of the for
- A group of cardinals assembled to elect a new pope. Of the ten Cardinals now forming the Conclave, five voted for Cardinal Geoffredo Castiglione [later Pope Celestine IV], a Milanese, nephew to Urban III, and three for Cardinal Romano [da Porto].
- The cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church collectively. [Thomas] VVol[sey]. […] Rome (the Nurſe of Iudgement) / Inuited by your Noble ſelfe, hath ſent / One generall Tongue vnto vs. This good man, / This iuſt and learned Prieſt, Cardnall Campeius [Lorenzo Campeggio], / VVhom once more, I preſent vnto your Highneſſe. / Kin[g Henry VIII]. And once more in
- A closed assembly at which cardinals elect a pope. in conclave
- A closed, private, or secret meeting, especially one of an ecclesiastical nature. The morrow after which was the thirde daye of the Counſayle, as the Archbiſhop was ſitting beneth in a conclaue with his felow Biſhops about him, conſulting together, the ſayde Biſhops labored by ſundry wayes and meanes, and with verie vehement perſwaſions and learned arguments to wyll him to obedie
-
A private chamber or room.
[W]e in Europe, (notvvithſtanding all the remote Diſcoueries, and Nauigations of this laſt Age) neuer heard any of the leaſt Inkling or Glimſe of this Iſland. […] [W]ee neuer heard tell of any Shipp of theirs, that had been ſeene to arriue vpon any ſhore of Europe; […] For the Situation of it (as hi
Similar: closet
verb conclaves · conclaving · conclaved
- To participate in a closed, private, or secret meeting. [N]or […] were a group of the miserably destitute ever discovered conclaved gravely in the committee-room, where the Board of Directors are usually occupied in breaking hearts—while the said board were hammering might and main in the yard, where the miserably destitute are usually occupied in breaki
- Of a cardinal: to attend a closed assembly to elect a pope. At Cardinal Verdi's urging the College of Cardinals at last conclaved behind locked doors, slipping into the heavily guarded Sistine Chapel through the underground tunnels for their deliberations.
Translations
Every language
noun closed assembly at which cardinals elect a pope
| Español | cónclave |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 콘클라베 konkeullabe |
| 日本語 | コンクラーヴェ konkurāvue |
| Kiswahili | konklevu |
| Português | conclave |
| Français | conclave |
| Deutsch | Konklave |
| Italiano | conclave |
| Ελληνικά | κονκλάβιο konklávio |
| Română | conclav |
| Русский | конкла́в konkláv |
| Tiếng Việt | mật nghị hồng y |
| العربية | المجمع المغلق |
| עברית | קונקלווה |
noun set of apartments in which cardinals are secluded while the process to elect a pope takes place
| Français | conclave |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Konklave |
noun group of cardinals assembled to elect a new pope; cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church collectively
| Español | cónclave |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 樞機團 /枢机团 shūjītuán |
| Français | conclave |
| Deutsch | Konklave |
| Italiano | conclave |
| Русский | конкла́в konkláv |
noun closed, private, or secret meeting, especially one of an ecclesiastical nature
| Español | cónclave |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 祕密會議 /秘密会议 mìmì huìyì |
| Português | conclave |
| Deutsch | Klausur, Klausurtagung |
Talk about this word "conclave." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/conclave. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. conclave. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/conclave "conclave." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/conclave.Cite this
@misc{conclave_2026,
title = {conclave},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/conclave},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
