Adjacent Words

Clove definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CLOVE, pret. of cleave.
CLOVE, n. [See Cleave.] A cleft; a fissure; a gap; a ravine. This word, though properly an appellative, is not often used as such in English; bu it is appropriated to particular places, that are real clefts, or which appear as such; as the Clove of Kaaterskill, in the state of New York, and the Stony Clove. It is properly a Dutch word.
CLOVE, n.
1. A very pungent aromatic spice, the flower of the clove-tree, Caryophyllus, a native of the Molucca isles. The tree grows to the size of the laurel, and its bark resembles that of the olive. No verdure is seen under it. At the extremities of its branches are produced vast numbers of flowers, which are at first white, then green, and at last red and hard. These are called cloves.
2. [from cleave.] The parts into which garlic separates, when the outer skin is removed.
3. A certain weight; seven pounds of wool; eight pounds of cheese or butter.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: aromatic flower bud of a clove tree; yields a spice
2: moderate sized very symmetrical red-flowered evergreen widely cultivated in the tropics for its flower buds which are source of cloves [syn: clove, clove tree, Syzygium aromaticum, Eugenia aromaticum, Eugenia caryophyllatum]
3: one of the small bulblets that can be split off of the axis of a larger garlic bulb [syn: clove, garlic clove]
4: spice from dried unopened flower bud of the clove tree; used whole or ground

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English clufu; akin to Old English cl?ofan to cleave Date: before 12th century one of the small bulbs (as in garlic) developed in the axils of the scales of a large bulb II. past of cleave III. noun Etymology: alteration of Middle English clowe, from Anglo-French clou (de girofle), literally, nail of clove, from Latin clavus nail Date: 13th century the dried flower bud of a tropical tree (Syzygium aromaticum syn. Eugenia aromatica) of the myrtle family that is used as a spice and is the source of an oil; also this tree

Britannica Concise

Small, reddish-brown flower bud of the tropical evergreen tree Syzygium aromaticum (sometimes called Eugenia caryophyllata), of the myrtle family, important in the earliest spice trade and believed native to the Moluccas of Indonesia. With a strong aroma and hot and pungent taste, cloves are used to flavor many foods. Clove oil is used to prepare microscope slides for viewing and as a local anesthetic for toothaches. Eugenol, its principal ingredient, is used in germicides, perfumes, and mouthwashes, in the synthesis of vanillin, and as a sweetener or intensifier.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. 1 a a dried flower-bud of a tropical plant, Eugenia aromatica, used as a pungent aromatic spice. b this plant. 2 (in full clove gillyflower or clove pink) a clove-scented pink, Dianthus caryophyllus, the original of the carnation and other double pinks. Etymology: ME f. OF clou (de girofle) nail (of gillyflower), from its shape, GILLYFLOWER being orig. the name of the spice; later applied to the similarly scented pink 2. n. any of the small bulbs making up a compound bulb of garlic, shallot, etc. Etymology: OE clufu, rel. to CLEAVE(1) 3. past of CLEAVE(1).

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Clove Clove, imp. of Cleave. Cleft. --Spenser. Clove hitch (Naut.) See under Hitch. Clove hook (Naut.), an iron two-part hook, with jaws overlapping, used in bending chain sheets to the clews of sails; -- called also clip hook. --Knight.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Clove Clove, n. [D. kloof. See Cleave, v. t.] A cleft; a gap; a ravine; -- rarely used except as part of a proper name; as, Kaaterskill Clove; Stone Clove.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Clove Clove, n. [OE. clow, fr. F. clou nail, clou de girofle a clove, lit. nail of clove, fr. L. clavus nail, perh. akin to clavis key, E. clavicle. The clove was so called from its resemblance to a nail. So in D. kruidnagel clove, lit. herb-nail or spice-nail. Cf. Cloy.] A very pungent aromatic spice, the unexpanded flower bud of the clove tree (Eugenia, or Caryophullus, aromatica), a native of the Molucca Isles. Clove camphor. (Chem.) See Eugenin. Clove gillyflower, Clove pink (Bot.), any fragrant self-colored carnation.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Clove Clove, n. [AS. clufe an ear of corn, a clove of garlic; cf. cle['o]fan to split, E. cleave.] 1. (Bot.) One of the small bulbs developed in the axils of the scales of a large bulb, as in the case of garlic. Developing, in the axils of its skales, new bulbs, of what gardeners call cloves. --Lindley.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cleave Cleave (kl[=e]v), v. t. [imp. Cleft (kl[e^]ft), Clave (kl[=a]v, Obs.), Clove (kl[=o]v, Obsolescent); p. p. Cleft, Cleaved (kl[=e]vd) or Cloven (kl[=o]"v'n); p. pr. & vb. n. Cleaving.] [OE. cleoven, cleven, AS. cle['o]fan; akin to OS. klioban, D. klooven, G. klieben, Icel. klj[=u]fa, Sw. klyfva, Dan. kl["o]ve and prob. to Gr. gly`fein to carve, L. glubere to peel. Cf. Cleft.] 1. To part or divide by force; to split or rive; to cut. O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain. --Shak. 2. To part or open naturally; to divide. Every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws. --Deut. xiv. 6.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(cloves) 1. Cloves are small dried flower buds which are used as a spice. ...chicken soup with cloves. N-VAR 2. A clove of garlic is one of the sections of a garlic bulb. N-COUNT: usu N of n