clavus

[ kley-vuhs, klah- ]

noun

, plural cla·vi [kley, -vahy, -vee].

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

They appear to be the origin of the “clavus” or nail-headed pattern woven into silks in the Palace of the Cæsars.

From Project Gutenberg

I shall discuss the Latin Clavus and the Chrysoclavus amongst ecclesiastical embroideries, pp. 308, 336 (post).

From Project Gutenberg

Claval suture: Hemiptera; at the base of hemelytra, separating the clavus.

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

Some of the worst cases of clavus, probably, that have ever been seen were developed in the old days of phlebotomy.

From Project Gutenberg