Etymology

clove

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Today it means: A very pungent aromatic spice, the unexpanded flower bud of the clove tree. Full definition →

Middle English clove ← Old French clou ← Latin clāvus
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clove · noun1

  1. Latin · derived fromclāvus“nail”
  2. Old French · derived fromclou
  3. Middle English · inherited fromclove
  4. English todayclove

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.

clove · noun2

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*klubō
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*klubu
  3. Old English · inherited fromclufu
  4. Middle English · inherited fromclove
  5. English todayclove

From Middle English clove, from Old English clufu, from Proto-West Germanic *klubu, from Proto-Germanic *klubō, related to clēofan (“to cleave, split”), hence with the verbal etymology hereafter.

clove · noun3

  1. Dutch · borrowed fromklove
  2. English todayclove

Borrowed from Dutch klove (now kloof). Doublet of kloof.

Words from the same roots

Latinclāvus all →

cloyclavicornclaviformclavustriclavianism

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.