clove

¹ American  

[klohv] / kloʊv /

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.

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clove ² American  

[klohv] / kloʊv /

noun

Botany.

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

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clove ³ American  

[klohv] / kloʊv /

verb

1. a simple past tense of cleave.

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clove ⁴ American  

[klohv] / kloʊv /

noun

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

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clove ¹ British  

/ 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

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clove ² British  

/ kləʊv /

noun

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

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clove ³ British  

/ kləʊv /

verb

1. a past tense of cleave 1

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Etymology

Origin of clove¹

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

Origin of clove²

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 cleave ²

Origin of clove⁴

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), from Latin clāvus; see clove ¹

Example Sentences

There has been a sobering awareness in the WhatsApp group chat where Clove Galilee has kept up with her neighbors since the Palisades fire destroyed their homes.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2025

“Things would be delivered to the house, and Clove would be like, ‘What is this?’”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2025

A: Thankfully, at Clove Brook Farm, we don’t have a lot of bugs.

From Seattle Times • May 31, 2021

Ms. Bass was at Clove Lakes in April when the hospital called to say that her husband had died.

From New York Times • Oct. 29, 2020

Cato and Clove, the tributes from District 2, might have both made it home if Peeta and I hadn’t.

From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins

Related Words

• chasm
• crack
• cut
• difference
• disagreement
• disparity
• divergence
• divide
• division
• hole
• inconsistency
• rift
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