/kləʊv/, /kloʊv/
OriginFrom Middle English clove, an alteration of earlier clowe, borrowed from the first component of Old French clou (de girofle) (modern French clou de girofle), from Latin clāvus (“nail”) for its shape. Also see clāva (“knotty branch, club”). Doublet of clou and clavus.
- countable, uncountableA very pungent aromatic spice, the unexpanded flower bud of the clove tree.
- countableA clove tree, of the species Syzygium aromaticum (syn. Caryophyllus aromaticus), native to the Moluccas (Indonesian islands), which produces the spice.
- countableAn old English measure of weight, containing 7 pounds (3.2 kg), i.e. half a stone.
“Seven pounds make a clove, 2 cloves a stone, 2 stone a tod, 6+¹⁄₂ tods a wey, 2 weys a sack, 12 sacks a last. The 'Pathway' points out the etymology of the word cloves; it calls them ' claves or nails”
“By a statute of 9 Hen. VI. it was ordained that the wey of cheese should contain 32 cloves of 7 lbs. each, i.e. 224 lbs., or 2 cwts.”
- One of the small bulbs formed in the axils of the scales of a large bulb.
“clove of garlic, garlic clove, clove of a sea-onion, clove of shallot, cloves of bulbs”
- A narrow valley with steep sides, used in areas of North America first settled by the Dutch
- form-of, pastsimple past of cleave
Formscloves(plural)