What is "clove"

Cleave \Cleave\ (kl[=e]v), v. t. [imp. Cleft (kl[e^]ft), Clave (kl[=a]v, Obs.), Clove (kl[=o]v, Obsolescent); p. p. Cleft, Cleaved (kl[=e]vd) or Cloven (kl[=o]"v'n); p. pr. & vb. n. Cleaving.] [OE. cleoven, cleven, AS. cle['o]fan; akin to OS. klioban, D. klooven, G. klieben, Icel. klj[=u]fa, Sw. klyfva, Dan. kl["o]ve and prob. to Gr. gly`fein to carve, L. glubere to peel. Cf. Cleft.]

1. To part or divide by force; to split or rive; to cut.

   O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain.
   --Shak.

2. To part or open naturally; to divide.

   Every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws.
   --Deut. xiv. 6.

Clove \Clove\, imp. of Cleave. Cleft.
--Spenser.

Clove hitch (Naut.) See under Hitch.

Clove hook (Naut.), an iron two-part hook, with jaws overlapping, used in bending chain sheets to the clews of sails; -- called also clip hook.
--Knight.

Clove \Clove\, n. [D. kloof. See Cleave, v. t.] A cleft; a gap; a ravine; -- rarely used except as part of a proper name; as, Kaaterskill Clove; Stone Clove.

Clove \Clove\, n. [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.] A very pungent aromatic spice, the unexpanded flower bud of the clove tree ( Eugenia aromatica syn. Caryophullus aromatica), a native of the Molucca Isles.

Clove camphor. (Chem.) See Eugenin.

Clove gillyflower, Clove pink (Bot.), any fragrant self-colored carnation.

Clove \Clove\, n. [AS. clufe an ear of corn, a clove of garlic; cf. cle['o]fan to split, E. cleave.]

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.

dried flowerbud of a certain tropical tree, used as a spice, late 15c., earlier clowes (14c.), from Anglo-French clowes de gilofre (c.1200), Old French clou de girofle "nail of gillyflower," so called from its shape, from Latin clavus "a nail" (see slot (n.2)). For second element, see gillyflower. The two cloves were much confused in Middle English. The clove pink is so called from the scent of the flowers.

"slice of garlic," Old English clufu "clove (of garlic), bulb, tuber," from Proto-Germanic *klubo "cleft, thing cloven," from PIE *gleubh- "to tear apart, cleave" (see cleave (v.1)). Its Germanic cognates mostly lurk in compounds that translate as "clove-leek," such as Old Saxon clufloc, Old High German chlobilouh. Dissimilation produced Dutch knoflook, German knoblauch.

Etymology 1 n. 1 (label en uncountable countable) A very pungent aromatic spice, the unexpanded flower bud of the clove tree. 2 (label en countable botany) A (vern: clove tree), of the species ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (syn. (taxlink Caryophyllus aromatica species noshow=1)), native to the Moluccas (Indonesian islands), which produces the spice. 3 (label en countable) An old English measure of weight, containing 7 pounds (3.2 kg), i.e. half a stone. Etymology 2

n. Any one of the separate bulbs that make up the larger bulb of garlic Etymology 3

vb. (en-simple past of: cleave) Etymology 4

n. (label en geography) A narrow valley with steep sides, used in areas of North America first settled by the Dutch

See cleave

1. v. separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument; "cleave the bone" [syn: split, rive]

2. make by cutting into; "The water is going to cleave a channel into the rock"

3. come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation; "The dress clings to her body"; "The label stuck to the box"; "The sushi rice grains cohere" [syn: cling, adhere, stick, cohere]

4. [also: cloven, clove, cleft]

1. n. aromatic flower bud of a clove tree; yields a spice

2. moderate sized very symmetrical red-flowered evergreen widely cultivated in the tropics for its flower buds which are source of cloves [syn: clove tree, Syzygium aromaticum, Eugenia aromaticum, Eugenia caryophyllatum]

3. one of the small bulblets that can be split off of the axis of a larger garlic bulb [syn: garlic clove]

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

Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, Syzygium aromaticum. They are native to the Maluku Islands in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice. Cloves are commercially harvested primarily in Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, Madagascar, Zanzibar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania. Cloves are available throughout the year.

A clove is the aromatic dried flower bud of a tree in the family Myrtaceae.

Clove may also refer to:

• Garlic clove, a segment of a bulb (head) of garlic
• Clove (weight), an old English unit of weight
• Clove (ship), a ship captained by John Saris
• Clove Brook, a stream in New Jersey, US
• Clove, a fictional character in The Hunger Games

The Clove was the first British trade ship to make port in Japan. Captained by John Saris, it landed at Hirado, near Nagasaki, on 12 June 1613.

Saris opened a trading post and factory in Hirado, which he passed on to his colleague Richard Cocks when he left Japan in December that same year. Cocks would manage the post for roughly ten years before he was recalled by the British East India Company on charges of misconduct; he died of illness shortly after leaving Japan.