clave

[klah-vey]

noun

one of a pair of wooden sticks or blocks that are held one in each hand and are struck together to accompany music and dancing.

Nearby words

Origin of clave

1925–30; American Spanish, Spanish: keystone < Latin clāvis key

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for claves

During the conversation with Claves he told me he kept up the house, paid all the grocery bills, and half the payments.
The Conquest|Oscar Micheaux
The head of the table was occupied by the Reverend when he was at home and by Claves when the Reverend was away.
The Conquest|Oscar Micheaux
Claves had borrowed five dollars from his brother when they went on the wedding trip, to pay for a taxi to the depot.
The Conquest|Oscar Micheaux
Clavel-tack, a mantel-piece, a place where keys (claves) are kept, a shelf for keys.
A Glossary of Provincial Words & Phrases in use in Somersetshire|Wadham Pigott Williams

This displeased me very much, as I had grown to dislike Ethel and Claves did not interest me.
The Conquest|Oscar Micheaux

British Dictionary definitions for claves

clave

noun

music one of a pair of hardwood sticks struck together to make a hollow sound, esp to mark the beat of Latin-American dance music

Word Origin for clave

C20: from American Spanish, from Latin clavis key

clave

verb

archaic a past tense of cleave 1

clave

noun

zoology a clublike thickening at the upper end of an organ, esp of the antenna of an insect

Word Origin for clave

C19: from Latin clāva club

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

Word Origin and History for claves

claves

pair of hardwood sticks used in making music, 1928, from American Spanish claves (plural), from Spanish clave "keystone," from Latin clavis "key" (see slot (n.2)).