clavus

[kley-vuhs, klah-]

noun

plural

clavi 

1. Psychiatry.,  an intense headache in which the pain is likened to one that would be produced by a sharp object driven into the skull.

2. (in ancient Rome) a vertical stripe or band of purple worn on the tunic by senators and equites.

3. Entomology.,  clavola.

Word History and Origins

Origin of clavus¹

1800–10; < Latin: literally, nail; akin to claudere to close

Example Sentences

But in this case, scientists discovered a giant structure built entirely out of one species of coral, known as Pavona clavus.

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The creatures aren't graceful swimmers; they’re often seen “waggling their large dorsal and anal fins to move and steering with their clavus,” according to National Geographic.

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Somewhat magnified. sc, scutellum; co, cl, m, corium, clavus and membrane of forewing.

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This much may be said, however: that the pain is rarely or never seated in one parietal region, as is frequently the case with migraine and with clavus.

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Hysterical patients describe a sensation as if a nail were being driven into the forehead—the so-called clavus hystericus.

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