clove

1
[ klohv ]
See synonyms for: clovecloves on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. the dried flower bud of a tropical tree, Syzygium aromaticum, of the myrtle family, used whole or ground as a spice.

  2. the tree itself.

Origin of clove

1
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English clow(e), clo(ve), clawe (short for clow-gilofre from Old French clo, clou, clau (de gilofre, girofle), literally “nail of the gillyflower”; see origin at clou, gillyflower

Words Nearby clove

Other definitions for clove (2 of 4)

clove2
[ klohv ]

nounBotany.
  1. one of the small bulbs formed in the axils of the scales of a mother bulb, as in garlic.

Origin of clove

2
First recorded before 1000; Middle English clove, clof, clowe, Old English clufe (plural) “ears of grain, cloves of garlic”; (cognate with Middle Dutch clōve, Dutch kloof ); akin to cleave2

Other definitions for clove (3 of 4)

clove3
[ klohv ]

verb
  1. a simple past tense of cleave2.

Other definitions for clove (4 of 4)

clove4
[ klohv ]

noun
  1. a British unit of weight for wool, cheese, etc., usually equivalent to 8 pounds (3.6 kilograms).

Origin of clove

4
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English claue, clou from Anglo-French clove, earlier clou, equivalent to Anglo-Latin clāvus “nail” (also used as a unit of linear measure), fromLatin clāvus; see clove1

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use clove in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for clove (1 of 3)

clove1

/ (kləʊv) /


noun
  1. a tropical evergreen myrtaceous tree, Syzygium aromaticum, native to the East Indies but cultivated elsewhere, esp Zanzibar

  2. the dried unopened flower buds of this tree, used as a pungent fragrant spice

Origin of clove

1
C14: from Old French clou de girofle, literally: nail of clove, clou from Latin clāvus nail + girofle clove tree

British Dictionary definitions for clove (2 of 3)

clove2

/ (kləʊv) /


noun
  1. any of the segments of a compound bulb that arise from the axils of the scales of a large bulb

Origin of clove

2
Old English clufu bulb; related to Old High German klovolouh garlic; see cleave 1

British Dictionary definitions for clove (3 of 3)

clove3

/ (kləʊv) /


verb
  1. a past tense of cleave 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012