# enclave

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɛnkleɪv/ · frequency rank #22,660

## Definitions
1. A political, cultural or social entity or part thereof that is completely surrounded by another.
2. A group that is set off from a larger population by its characteristic or behavior.
3. An isolated portion of an application's address space, such that data in an enclave can only be accessed by code in the same enclave.

## Etymology
Borrowed from French enclave, from Middle French enclave (“enclave”), deverbal of enclaver (“to inclose”), from Old French enclaver (“to inclose, lock in”), from Vulgar Latin *inclāvāre (“to lock in”), from in + Latin clavis (“key”) or clavus (“nail, bolt”). Compare inlock.

## Easily confused with
- **enslave** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/enclave-vs-enslave)
- **enclose** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/enclave-vs-enclose)

## Common misspellings (10)
`ecnlave`, `encalve`, `encclave`, `enclaev`, `enclavve`, `encllave`, `enclvae`, `enlcave`, `ennclave`, `neclave`

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