Clove Meaning
/kləʊv/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA very pungent aromatic spice, the unexpanded flower bud of the clove tree.
nounA clove tree, of the species Syzygium aromaticum (syn. Caryophyllus aromaticus), native to the Moluccas (Indonesian islands), which produces the spice.
Sentence Examples
A clove cigarette miasma made navigating the pub like swimming underwater.
Is eating a clove of garlic every day beneficial to your health?
CEFR Practice Quiz
He added a single ____ of garlic to the simmering sauce.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I added a single ____ of garlic to the tomato sauce for flavor.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Seven pounds make a clove, 2 cloves a stone, 2 stone a tod, 6+¹⁄₂ tods a wey, 2 weys a sack, 12 sacks a last. The 'Pathway' points out the etymology of the word cloves; it calls them ' claves or nails.' It is to be observed here that a sack is 13 tods, and a tod 28 pounds, so that the sack is 364 pounds."
— 1843, The Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, volume 27, page 202:
"By a statute of 9 Hen. VI. it was ordained that the wey of cheese should contain 32 cloves of 7 lbs. each, i.e. 224 lbs., or 2 cwts."
— 1866, James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, volume 1, page 169:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
He added a single ____ of garlic to the simmering sauce.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I added a single ____ of garlic to the tomato sauce for flavor.