enclave
[en-kleyv, ahn-]
- a country, or especially, an outlying portion of a country, entirely or mostly surrounded by the territory of another country.
- any small, distinct area or group enclosed or isolated within a larger one: a Chinese-speaking enclave in London.
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- to isolate or enclose (especially territory) within a foreign or uncongenial environment; make an enclave of: The desert enclaved the little settlement.
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Origin of enclave
1865–70; < French, Middle French, noun derivative of enclaver < Vulgar Latin *inclāvāre to lock in, equivalent to Latin in- in-2 + clāv(is) key + -āre infinitive suffix
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
inundatebesiegeenvelopringcirclebeleaguerboundbesetgirdrimvergecircumscribeencompassskirtcircumventborderlimitconfineblockadecompassenclave
- a part of a country entirely surrounded by foreign territory: viewed from the position of the surrounding territoriesCompare exclave
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Word Origin
C19: from French, from Old French enclaver to enclose, from Vulgar Latin inclāvāre (unattested) to lock up, from Latin in- ² + clavis key
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for enclaved
enclave
n.
1868, from French enclave, from Old French enclaver "enclose, comprise, include" (13c.), from Late Latin inclavare "shut in, lock up," from Latin in- "in" (see in- (2)) + clavis "key" (see slot (n.2)). Enclaved "surrounded by land owned by another" is attested in English from mid-15c., from Middle French enclaver.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
enclave
(ĕn′klāv′, ŏn′-)- A detached mass of tissue enclosed in tissue of another kind.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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