Standard Lemma guide

clove

noun · verb · 10 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /kləʊv/
  • General-American: /kloʊv/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -əʊv
  • CMU ARPABET: K L OW1 V Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A very pungent aromatic spice, the unexpanded flower bud of the clove tree.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A clove tree, of the species Syzygium aromaticum (syn. Caryophyllus aromaticus), native to the Moluccas (Indonesian islands), which produces the spice.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

An old English measure of weight, containing 7 pounds (3.2 kg), i.e. half a stone.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

One of the small bulbs formed in the axils of the scales of a large bulb.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: agriculture, business, cooking, food, horticulture, lifestyle

Examples

  • clove of garlic, garlic clove, clove of a sea-onion, clove of shallot, cloves of bulbs

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A narrow valley with steep sides.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Northeastern, US

Topics: geography, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

simple past of cleave

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, past

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

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

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: spice

8

noun

Meaning 8

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

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: garlic clove

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: garlic, ail

9

noun

Meaning 9

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

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: clove tree, Syzygium aromaticum, Eugenia aromaticum, Eugenia caryophyllatum

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: spice tree

10

noun

Meaning 10

aromatic flower bud of a clove tree; yields a spice

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: flower bud

History

Etymology

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.

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.

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

Across languages

Translations

192 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: naeltjie — spice
  • Albanian: karafil — spice
  • Amharic: ቅርንፉድ (ḳərnəfud) — spice
  • Arabic: قَرَنْفُل (qaranful) — spice
  • Arabic: قرنفل (ʔurunfil) — spice
  • Arabic: قُرُنْفُل (gurunful) — spice
  • Arabic: قرنفل (qrunful) — spice
  • Armenian: մեխակ (mexak) — spice
  • Assamese: লং (loṅ) — spice
  • Azerbaijani: mixək — spice
  • Bashkir: ҡәләмфер (qələmfer) — spice
  • Basque: iltzea — spice
  • Bengali: লবঙ্গ (loboṅgo) — spice
  • Bulgarian: карамфил (karamfil) — spice
  • Burmese: လေးညှင်းပွင့် (le:hnyang:pwang.) — spice
  • Catalan: clavell — spice
  • Catalan: clavell d'espècia — spice
  • Catalan: clau d'espècia — spice
  • Chinese Cantonese: 丁香 (ding1 hoeng1) — spice
  • Chinese Mandarin: 丁香 (dīngxiāng) — spice
  • East Circassian: къэрмэфибл (qɛrmɛfibl) — spice
  • Ngazidja Comorian: karanfu — spice
  • Czech: hřebíček — spice
  • Danish: nellike — spice
  • Danish: kryddernellike — spice
  • Dhivehi: ކަރަންފޫ (karan̊fū) — spice
  • Dutch: kruidnagel — spice
  • Esperanto: kariofilo — spice
  • Estonian: nelk — spice
  • Finnish: neilikka — spice
  • Finnish: mausteneilikka — spice
  • French: clou de girofle — spice
  • North Frisian: Naageltji — spice
  • North Frisian: Naagelknop — spice
  • Saterland Frisian: Stäietnägelke — spice
  • West-Frisian: krûdnagel — spice
  • Galician: cravo — spice
  • German: Gewürznelke — spice
  • Greek: γαρύφαλλο (garýfallo) — spice
  • Ancient Greek: καρυόφυλλον (karuóphullon) — spice
  • Gujarati: લવિંગ (laviṅg) — spice
  • Haitian Creole: jiwòf — spice
  • Hebrew: צִפֹּרֶן (tzippóren) — spice
  • Hindi: लौंग (lauṅg) — spice
  • Hindi: लवंग (lavaṅg) — spice
  • Hungarian: szegfűszeg — spice
  • Icelandic: negull — spice
  • Indonesian: cengkih — spice
  • Irish: clóbh — spice
  • Italian: chiodo di garofano — spice
  • Japanese: クローブ (kurōbu) — spice
  • Japanese: 丁子 (chōji) — spice
  • Japanese: 丁字 (chōji) — spice
  • Javanese: ꦕꦼꦁꦏꦺꦃ (cengkéh) — spice
  • Kannada: ಲವಂಗ (lavaṅga) — spice
  • Khmer: ក្លាំពូ (klampuu) — spice
  • Korean: 정향나무 (jeonghyangnamu) — spice
  • Central Kurdish: مێخەک (mêxek) — spice
  • Northern Kurdish: mêxek — spice
  • Northern Kurdish: qernefîl — spice
  • Lao: ກ້ານພູ (kān phū) — spice
  • Latvian: krustnagliņa — spice
  • Luxembourgish: Neelcheskapp — spice
  • Macedonian: каранфилче (karanfilče) — spice
  • Malagasy: jirofo — spice
  • Malay: cengkih — spice
  • Malayalam: കരയാമ്പൂ (karayāmpū) — spice
  • Malayalam: ഗ്രാമ്പു (grāmpu) — spice
  • Maltese: qronfol — spice
  • Māori: korohe — spice
  • Marathi: लवंग (lavaṅga) — spice
  • Minangkabau: cangkeh — spice
  • Classical Nahuatl: Caxtīllān chīlli — spice
  • Nepali: ल्वाङ (lwāṅ) — spice
  • Norman: cliou d'giroufl'ye — spice
  • Norman: cllaou d'girouflle — spice
  • Norman: cllou de girouflle — spice
  • Norwegian Bokmål: nellik — spice
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: nellik — spice
  • Occitan: clavèl de giròfle — spice
  • Odia: ଲବଙ୍ଗ (labaṅga) — spice
  • Oromo: qurunfudii — spice
  • Pashto: لونګ (lawong) — spice
  • Persian: قرنفل (qaranfol) — spice
  • Polish: goździk — spice
  • Portuguese: cravo — spice
  • Portuguese: cravo-da-índia — spice
  • Portuguese: cravinho — spice
  • Portuguese: girofle — spice
  • Romanian: cuișoare — spice
  • Russian: гвозди́ка (gvozdíka) — spice
  • Sanskrit: लवंग (lavaṃga) — spice
  • Serbo-Croatian: каранфилић — spice
  • Serbo-Croatian: клинчић — spice
  • Serbo-Croatian: karanfilić — spice
  • Serbo-Croatian: klinčić — spice
  • Slovene: klinček — spice
  • Slovene: nageljnova žbica — spice
  • Somali: dhaga yare — spice
  • Spanish: clavo de olor — spice
  • Spanish: clavo — spice
  • Spanish: girofle — spice
  • Spanish: jirofle — spice
  • Spanish: clavillo — spice
  • Sundanese: ᮎᮨᮀᮊᮦᮂ (cengkéh) — spice
  • Swahili: karafuu — spice
  • Swedish: kryddnejlika — spice
  • Taba: odai — spice
  • Tagalog: kalabumpako — spice
  • Tagalog: klabos — spice
  • Tamil: கிராம்பு (kirāmpu) — spice
  • Telugu: లవంగము (lavaṅgamu) — spice
  • Ternate: bualawa — spice
  • Thai: กานพลู (gaan-pluu) — spice
  • Tibetan: ལི་ཤི། (li shi) — spice
  • Tidore: gomode — spice
  • Turkish: karanfil — spice
  • Ottoman Turkish: قرنفل (karanfil) — spice
  • Ukrainian: гвозди́ка (hvozdýka) — spice
  • Vietnamese: đinh hương — spice
  • Welsh: clof — spice
  • Welsh: clofsen — spice
  • Welsh: clowsen — spice
  • West Flemish: kruudnoagel — spice
  • Wolof: djirofe — spice
  • Yiddish: נעגעלע (negele) — spice
  • Armenian: մեխակածառ (mexakacaṙ) — Syzygium aromaticum
  • Burmese: လေးညှင်း (le:hnyang:) — Syzygium aromaticum
  • Chinese Mandarin: 丁子香 (dīngzǐxiāng) — Syzygium aromaticum
  • Chinese Mandarin: 雞舌香 /鸡舌香 (jīshéxiāng) — Syzygium aromaticum
  • Hindi: लौंग (lauṅg) — Syzygium aromaticum
  • Hindi: लवंग (lavaṅg) — Syzygium aromaticum
  • Japanese: チョウジノキ (chōji-no-ki) — Syzygium aromaticum
  • Japanese: 丁子 (chōji) — Syzygium aromaticum
  • Japanese: チョウジ (chōji) — Syzygium aromaticum
  • Polish: goździkowiec korzenny — Syzygium aromaticum
  • Polish: drzewo goździkowe — Syzygium aromaticum
  • Russian: гвозди́чное де́рево (gvozdíčnoje dérevo) — Syzygium aromaticum
  • Spanish: clavero — Syzygium aromaticum
  • Spanish: girofle — Syzygium aromaticum
  • Spanish: jirofle — Syzygium aromaticum
  • Swahili: mkarafuu — Syzygium aromaticum
  • Albanian: thelpi — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Arabic: فَصّ (faṣṣ) — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Arabic: فص (faṣ) — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Azerbaijani: diş — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Bulgarian: скили́дка (skilídka) — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Catalan: all — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Chinese Cantonese: 粒 — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Chinese Cantonese: 瓣 (faan6 or baan6) — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Chinese Mandarin: 瓣 (bàn) — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Czech: stroužek — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Danish: fed — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Dutch: teen — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Finnish: kynsi — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • French: gousse — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Galician: dente — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • German: Zehe — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • German: Knoblauchzehe — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Greek: σκελίδα (skelída) — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Ancient Greek: γελγίς (gelgís) — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Hebrew: שֵׁן שׁוּם (shen shum) — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Hebrew: שִׁנֵּי שׁוּם (shinéy shum) — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Hungarian: gerezd — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Icelandic: geiri — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Indonesian: siung — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Irish: ionga — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Italian: spicchio — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Latvian: daiva — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Macedonian: чешне (češne) — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Malay: ulas — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Malay: siung — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Marathi: पाकळी (pākḷī) — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Norman: gousse — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Norwegian: fedd — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Old English: clufu — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Polish: ząbek — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Portuguese: dente — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Romanian: cățel — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Serbo-Croatian: че̏шањ — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Serbo-Croatian: че̏н — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Serbo-Croatian: чесно — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Serbo-Croatian: чехно — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Serbo-Croatian: čȅšanj — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Serbo-Croatian: čȅn — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Serbo-Croatian: česno — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Serbo-Croatian: čehno — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Spanish: diente — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Swedish: klyfta — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Telugu: పాయ (pāya) — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Turkish: diş — constitutive bulb of garlic
  • Vietnamese: tép — constitutive bulb of garlic
Real reading context

clove in complete knowledge articles