Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. An evergreen tree (Syzygium aromaticum) native to the Moluccas and widely cultivated in warm regions for its aromatic dried flower buds.
- n. A flower bud of this plant, used whole or ground as a spice. Often used in the plural.
- n. One of the small sections of a separable bulb, as that of garlic.
- v. A past tense of cleave1.
- v. Archaic A past participle of cleave1.
- v. Archaic A past tense of cleave2.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Preterit, and formerly sometimes (for cloven, to which the o in pret. clove is due) past participle, of cleave.
- n. One of the small bulbs formed in the axils of the scales of a mother bulb, as in garlic.
- n. A ravine or rocky fissure; a gorge: as, the Kaaterskill clove in the Catskill mountains.
- n. A very pungent aromatic spice, the dried flower-buds of Eugenia caryophyllata, of the natural order Myrtaccæ, originally of the Moluccas, but now cultivated in Zanzibar, the West Indies, Brazil, and other tropical regions. The tree is a handsome evergreen, from 15 to 30 feet high, with large, elliptic, smooth leaves and numerous purplish flowers on jointed stalks. Every part of the plant abounds in the volatile oil for which the flower-buds are prized. Cloves are very largely used as a spice, and in medicine for their stimulant and aromatic properties.
- n. The tree which bears cloves.
- n. [F. clou, a nail: see etym.] A long spike-nail.
- n. In England, a weight of cheese, etc. A statute of 1430 makes the clove equal to 7 pounds. The word is still used in Suffolk and Essex for a weight of 8 pounds of cheese or wool, as a division of the wey.
- n. A cleft; an opening: as, the clove in the roving-carriage of a cotton-jenny.
Wiktionary
- n. A very pungent aromatic spice, the unexpanded flower bud of the clove tree.
- n. botany The tree Eugenia aromatica (syn. Caryophyllus aromatica), native to the Moluccas (Indonesian islands) which produces the spice.
- n. An old English measure of weight, containing 7 pounds (3.2 kg), i.e. half a stone.
- n. Any one of the separate bulbs that make up the larger bulb of garlic
- v. Simple past of cleave.
- n. A narrow valley with steep sides, used in areas of North America first settled by the Dutch
GNU Webster's 1913
- Cleft.
- n. A cleft; a gap; a ravine; -- rarely used except as part of a proper name.
- n. A very pungent aromatic spice, the unexpanded flower bud of the clove tree (Eugenia aromatica syn. Caryophullus aromatica), a native of the Molucca Isles.
- n. (Bot.) One of the small bulbs developed in the axils of the scales of a large bulb, as in the case of garlic.
- n. Prov. Eng. A weight. A
clove of cheese is about eight pounds, of wool, about seven pounds.
WordNet 3.0
- n. aromatic flower bud of a clove tree; yields a spice
- n. spice from dried unopened flower bud of the clove tree; used whole or ground
- n. moderate sized very symmetrical red-flowered evergreen widely cultivated in the tropics for its flower buds which are source of cloves
- n. one of the small bulblets that can be split off of the axis of a larger garlic bulb
Etymologies
- From Dutch kloof (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Old French clou (de girofle), nail (of the clove tree), from Latin clāvus, nail.Middle English, from Old English clufu; see gleubh- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The term clove bark has been applied to the barks of two different trees belonging to the natural order _Laurineæ_.”
“The clove is native to the far east of Indonesia, yet somehow these cloves found their way to ancient Mesopotamia.”
“The garlic then pops free of the skin, the root end can be cut or broken off easily, and the clove is pre-flattened for convenient mincing.”
they come at the age's most uncertain hours and sing an american tune
“Much of the research into the pharmacological benefits of garlic has focused on the organic polysulphides that the clove is rich in — the best known of which is Allicin.”
“After each clove is charred on one side, turn it so that all sides are charred, then remove from the heat.”
The Mexican Kitchen, Heart Of The Home: Part 2 - Cooking Techniques
“Such "polytobacco use" includes cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, snuff, and imported products such as kreteks, which are sometimes called clove cigarettes and usually contain tobacco, cloves, and other ingredients, according to a report in the Aug. 6 issue of”
“Cloven hoof is what it is and maybe the clove is the evolution of claws.”
“From the moment my sword clove the cliff of Hameln, I had accepted the laws of wizardry.”
“She explained that the speck had been identified as clove, and that Alex Ladd had clove-spiked oranges in a bowl in her entryway.”
“On its second rotation, the sword clove through the candle.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘clove’.
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Olde Englisc
English words of Anglo-Saxon origin.
onslaught, slain, clove, clave, thrice, nincompoop, scorn, storm, scant, lurk, beneath, atop and 143 more...
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CULI - wine-tasting adjectives
In this area of expertise nouns are frequently used as adjectives (almond, bacon, cider, diesel, fennel, fresh-cut hay, wool) or new adjectives are formed (appley, berrylike, citrusy, full-bodied, ...
acetic, acidic, aged, angular, appley, astringent, attractive, austere, berrylike, big, bitter, brawny and 511 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11250 more...
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phrontistery - c
from phrontistery.info
caballine, cabas, cable, caboched, cabochon, caboose, cabotage, cabré, cabrie, cabriole, cabriolet, cacaesthesia and 1298 more...
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food collection
bread, peel, pot, chorizo, Filet, olive, fill, Phyllo, dough, bake, mat, pinot and 988 more...
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cheese
everything cheese,expressions like
stiff cheddar,turophile's heaven
a work in progresscheddar, cheddared, cheddaring, cheedam, cheese straw, cheesed off, cheesed, cheesie, cheeseparing, cheese tree, cheesewood, cheesier and 352 more...
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The Sweet Smell of...
Things that smell good.
rain, rose, cinnamon, clove, jasmine, apple, sandalwood, rexo, bamboo, bacon, maple, eucalyptus and 36 more...
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English Weights and Measures
Most of these are names of weights and measures in use before 1500, gleaned from household accounts of English estates and colleges.
pondus, clove, wey, charrus, pisa, sum, seam, petra, fatt, peck, quarter, skep and 49 more...
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Spice or Weapon?
Is it something you'd add to spaghetti sauce, or is it something you'd use to intimidate your enemies?
mace, arrowroot, fenugreek fire, throwing star anise, pepper spray, white pepper spray, clove, war horseradish, o-ray-gun-o, mustard gas, pea shooter, pepperwood and 11 more...
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♥
ambrosia, inamorata, gossamer, lily-white, hummingbird, roucoulement, poppy, daisy, calypso, lunula, lamb, dove and 1526 more...
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thing
apron, lard, clove, camphor, alfalfa, amber, caraway, juniper, kohl, lute, shale, glyph and 142 more...
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the first list
an immense, grandiloquent list that loads like a thousand years sentence in stone. new words are in the other lists.
ridiculous, brummagem, predicament, sanctimonious, vapid, eschew, admonish, auspicious, capitulation, enumerate, lachrymose, tenet and 1648 more...
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dandy's list
favourite words
cattywampus, wibble, fenagle, whisker, sneeze, wisteria, honeysuckle, clove, perihelion, glimmer, twilight, dusk and 264 more...
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Buttery
Words that make me feel cozy
Noodle, Nugget, Butter, Soft, Snug, Feather, Socks, Knit, Mug, Curl, Billow, Lounge and 315 more...
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Flutter
tuberose, golden apple, apple cider, unicorn, extraordinary, Pleiades, Merope, speckle, glitter, rose, pitter-pat, whale and 314 more...
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Groceries
strawberries, baby spinach, black beans, cinnamon, oranges, apples, fstg multigrain t..., olive oil, simply orange juice, tomato sauce, wholly guacamole, salt sense and 115 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for clove.

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