# clove

> English word · Noun · IPA /kləʊv/ · frequency rank #32,327

## Definitions
1. A very pungent aromatic spice, the unexpanded flower bud of the clove tree.
2. A clove tree, of the species Syzygium aromaticum (syn. Caryophyllus aromaticus), native to the Moluccas (Indonesian islands), which produces the spice.
3. An old English measure of weight, containing 7 pounds (3.2 kg), i.e. half a stone.

## Etymology
From Middle English clove, an alteration of earlier clowe, borrowed from the first component of Old French clou (de girofle) (modern French clou de girofle), from Latin clāvus (“nail”) for its shape. Also see clāva (“knotty branch, club”). Doublet of clou and clavus.

## Easily confused with
- **Coe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clove-vs-coe)
- **Cov** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clove-vs-cov)
- **come** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clove-vs-come)
- **code** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clove-vs-code)
- **core** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clove-vs-core)
- **clue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clove-vs-clue)
- **cole** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clove-vs-cole)
- **coke** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clove-vs-coke)
- **cope** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clove-vs-cope)
- **cone** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clove-vs-cone)
- **cove** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clove-vs-cove)
- **cote** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clove-vs-cote)
- **cover** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clove-vs-cover)
- **curve** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clove-vs-curve)
- **clown** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clove-vs-clown)
- **Clyde** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clove-vs-clyde)
- **crave** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clove-vs-crave)
- **crore** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clove-vs-crore)
- **coven** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clove-vs-coven)
- **covet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clove-vs-covet)

## Common misspellings (7)
`cclove`, `cllove`, `cloev`, `clovve`, `clvoe`, `colve`, `lcove`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/clove