clove Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun aromatic flower bud of a clove tree; yields a spice
  2. noun moderate sized very symmetrical red-flowered evergreen widely cultivated in the tropics for its flower buds which are source of cloves
    Syzygium aromaticum; clove tree; Eugenia caryophyllatum; Eugenia aromaticum.
  3. noun one of the small bulblets that can be split off of the axis of a larger garlic bulb
    garlic clove.
  4. noun spice from dried unopened flower bud of the clove tree; used whole or ground
  5. verb separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument
    rive; cleave; split.
    • cleave the bone
  6. verb make by cutting into
    cleave.
    • The water is going to cleave a channel into the rock
  7. verb come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation
    cohere; cleave; stick; cling; adhere.
    • The dress clings to her body
    • The label stuck to the box
    • The sushi rice grains cohere

WordNet

Clove
Definitions
  1. imp. of Cleave. Cleft. Spenser. Knight.
Clove noun
Etymology
D. kloof. See Cleave, v. t.
Definitions
  1. A cleft; a gap; a ravine; -- rarely used except as part of a proper name; as, Kaaterskill Clove; Stone Clove.
Clove noun
Etymology
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.
Definitions
  1. A very pungent aromatic spice, the unexpanded flower bud of the clove tree (Eugenia, ∨ Caryophullus, aromatica), a native of the Molucca Isles.
Clove noun
Etymology
AS. clufe an ear of corn, a clove of garlic; cf. cleófan to split, E. cleave.
Definitions
  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.
  2. A weight. A clove of cheese is about eight pounds, of wool, about seven pounds. Prov. Eng. Halliwell.

Webster 1913