claves
/ˈklɑˌveɪz/noun, verb
claves is spelled C-L-A-V-E-S: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 32 million words in written English, the 173,967th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, claves means “A percussion instrument, consisting of two sticks or blocks, in which one is struck against the other in order to produce a sound” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in claves?
| Letters | 6: C-L-A-V-E-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 32 million words; the 173,967th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is claves?
Claves appears about once in every 32 million words in written English, the 173,967th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce claves?
- UK /kleɪvz/
- UK /klɑːvz/
- US /ˈklɑˌveɪz/
As a noun: /ˈkleɪˌviz/, /ˈklɑˌveɪz/.
Claves has 2 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of claves
- clave singular
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does claves mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A percussion instrument, consisting of two sticks or blocks, in which one is struck against the other in order to produce a sound.
- 2
plural of clavis
- 3
plural of clave
verb
- 1
third-person singular simple present indicative of clave
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does claves come from?
Borrowed from Latin American Spanish claves (plural), from Latin clāvis (“a key; a lever, bar”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).