Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

clave

/ˈklɑːveɪ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 2.25 in modern English

Syllables: clave
IPA: /ˈklɑːveɪ/

10

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

simple past and past participle of cleave

Archaic

noun

singular of claves

noun

A characteristic pattern of beats, especially the 3-2 son clave.

noun

Ellipsis of autoclave.

verb

Ellipsis of autoclave.

Example Sentences

"And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him."
"And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her."
"Sir Launcelot put his shield afore him, and put the stroke away of the one giant, and with his sword he clave his head asunder."
"Suddenly a peal of thunder, resonant even above the din of the swinish revelry, clave the very roof and laid a hush of feat upon the boisterous company."

Etymology

From Spanish clave, from Latin clāvis (“key”). Doublet of clavis and clef.

Origin

Source language: Spanish

Word Breakdown

Root: clave, clāvis

Usage

Archaic

Inflected Forms

claves (plural) claves (present, singular) claving (participle, present) claved (participle, past) claved (past)

Rhymes With

gave save they've wave dave brave slave grave cave behave shave rave

Questions

How do you pronounce clave?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈklɑːveɪ/.
What does clave mean?: simple past and past participle of cleave
Where does clave come from?: It is traced to Spanish.

How to pronounce clave

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “clave”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈklɑːveɪ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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