Etymology: Old English clufu (feminine), corresponding to Middle Low German, Middle Dutch klōve , clōve , Dutch kloof , cleft < Old Germanic *kluƀâ- , *kloƀâ- ; < weak-grade stem of *kleuf- , cleave v.¹ Closely related to Old High German chlobo (masculine), Middle High German klobe, Old Norse klofi, cleft, cloven thing. Compare Old High German chlobolouh, chlofolouh, Middle High German klobelouch, knobelouch, modern German knoblauch, Middle Low German kloflôk, Middle Dutch cloflooc, Dutch knoflook, ‘garlic’, lit. ‘clove-leek’.

Etymology: Middle English clow(e , < French clou, in full clou de girofle , ‘girofle nail’ (see clove gillyflower n.), clou being a popular addition to the original name girofle, from the resemblance of a single bud of the girofle, with its stalk, to a nail, clou, Latin clāvus. In Spanish it is clavo, Portuguese cravo. The phonetic history of the word in English contains points of difficulty. Originally clowe , cloue was, like the French, undoubtedly /kluː/, which would in due course have become clow . It is surmised that in the 15–16th cent. spelling cloue , u was taken to mean v , as in moue , loue , etc. (compare approve v.²); but it is not known how such a change in the spoken word occurred as to give the modern pronunciation, which is perhaps already indicated by the 15th cent. spelling cloyfe (= clōve ), is suggested by the plural close in 1555, and is implied in quot. 1598 at sense 1a.

Etymology: Represents Anglo-Latin clavus , Anglo-Norman clou , both very frequent in laws and ordinances of 13th–15th cent. It is thus identical with Latin clāvus ‘nail’, which was also used as a lineal measure (see nail n.); but how the measure and weight were related is not known. Nor does it appear how the English form of the word came to be clove , although its phonetic history may have been parallel to that of clove n.²(There can hardly be any connection with German kloben, of flax and wool, Grimm 1218, 8 a–c.)

Etymology: probably < Old Norse klofi cleft, split, groove = Old High German chlobo , Middle High German klobe < Old Germanic kloƀon- < root of cleave v.¹ Compare clof n.

Etymology: < Dutch klove, also kloof , in Middle Dutch clove , Middle Low German klove (feminine) split, cleft: see clove n.⁴

Etymology: Shortened < cloven adj.

Etymology: < clove n.²