clove English · revision 855

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kləʊv/ ''(UK)''; /kloʊv/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The spice is [[inh|enm|clowe]], from [[xno|clou de gilofre|t=nail of the gillyflower]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from [[la|clāvus|t=nail]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) so called from the shape of the bud.^(Etymonline) The bulb segment is [[inh|ang|clufu|t=clove (of garlic), bulb]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from [[gem-pro|*klubō]] “cleft thing”,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) related to [[cleave]] “to split”.^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) The two words were much confused in Middle English.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As a bulb segment, c. 1000;^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) as the spice, ''clowes de gilofre'' before 1200 and ''clove'' in 1225.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 14th century the spice word appeared alone as ''clowes'', finally becoming ''cloves'' by the late 15th century.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The name was extended to the clove tree itself (1594) and to the clove-scented pink (1746–47).^(OED 1989) The German word for garlic, ''Knoblauch'', is a dissimilated form of a compound corresponding to “clove-leek”.^(Etymonline) ''Clove'' is also a past tense of ''cleave''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – Old English ''clufu'', a bulb segment.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * before 1200 – ''clowes de gilofre'', the spice.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1225 – the spice.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1594 – the clove tree.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1746–47 – the clove pink.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The dried flower bud of a tropical [[evergreen]] tree, ''Syzygium aromaticum'', used whole or ground as a [[spice]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The tree itself, native to the [[Moluccas]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # One of the small sections of a compound bulb, such as that of [[garlic]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cloy]]

+ * [[cloying]]

+ * [[clove hitch]]

+ * [[cloven]]

+ * [[cleave]]

+ * [[gillyflower]]

+ * [[clavicle]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}