Also Inflected form of cleave

clove

UK/kləʊv/ US/kloʊv/ rare us

noun

aromatic flower bud of a clove tree; yields a spice

moderate sized very symmetrical red-flowered evergreen widely cultivated in the tropics for its flower buds which are source of cloves

Synonyms

one of the small bulblets that can be split off of the axis of a larger garlic bulb

Synonyms

garlic clove

spice from dried unopened flower bud of the clove tree; used whole or ground

Origin

From 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.

Phrases

clove camphor
clove gilliflower
clove gillyflower
clove lilli pilli
clove pink

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Parts

Syzygium

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.