Clōve1, imp.
imp. of cleave. [Obs.] Spenser.
3 entries under this word
Clove
clōve2, n.
n. [D. kloof. See CLOUGH and CLEAVE.] A cleft; a fissure; a gap; a ravine; — rarely used except as part of a proper name; as, Kaaterskill Clove, or the Stony Clove.
clōve3, n.
n. [Sp. clavo, nail, clavo aromático, clavo giroflado, clove, It. chiovo, nail, chiovo di garofano, clove, Fr. clou, nail, clou de girofle, clove, from Lat. clavus, nail; so called from its resemblance to a nail. So in D. kruidnagel, clove, literally herb-nail or spice-nail.]
- A very pungent aromatic spice, the unexpanded flower-bud of the clove tree, Caryophyllus aromaticus, a native of the Molucca Isles. Loudon.
- [A-S. clufe, an ear of corn, a clove of garlic, from cleofan, clufan, to cleave, split.] (Bot.) One of the small bulbs developed in the axils of the scales of a large bulb, as in the case of garlic.
A bulb has the power of propagating itself by developing, in the axils of its scales, new bulbs, or what gardeners call cloves. Lindley.
Sense 3. A denomination of weight; a clove of cheese is about eight pounds; a clove of wool is about seven pounds. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.