Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

claviform

/ˈklævɪˌfɔɹm/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.26 in modern English

Syllables: cla-vi-form
IPA: /ˈklævɪˌfɔɹm/

19

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Larger at the tip than at the base; club-shaped.

noun

An image or symbol which is club-shaped, that is, larger at the tip than at the base.

adj

Shaped like a nail (“a metallic spike-shaped fastener”).

adj

Key-shaped.

Example Sentences

"Claviform is the reverse of stalactitic; it is composed of club-shaped parallel rods which adhere by their thin extremities. Examples, brown and black hæmatite."
"Two other claviform tentacula arise from the anterior superior part of the mantle [of sea slugs of the genus Doris]."
"The embryo is roundish, compressed, with a very large, claviform radicle, and two large, foliaceous cotyledons, full of nerves, plaited, depressed, and applied to the radicle; the colour of the embryo is white, except the nerves of the cotyledons, which are rose-coloured."
"One zoarial fragment, from sample 2, may belong to Figularia. [...] The elongate-claviform zooecia have long, smooth proximal gymnocysts, extending as much as one-third the zooecial length and continuing as narrow strips along the lateral margins nearly to the distal end."
"They vary in shape from filiform (thread-shaped) or claviform (club-shaped) to capitate (with a terminal knob) or moniliform (with a series of knobs)."
"The claviform (club-shaped) shapes are especially prevalent in the Pyrenees particularly in the Ariege [...], but they are also found in the Dordogne (Lascaux, Gabillou), in Quercy (Saint-Eulalie), and on the Cantabrian coast [...]."

Etymology

The adjective is derived from Latin clāvifōrmis (“club-shaped, claviform”), from Latin clāva (“a club”) (from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₂- (“to beat; to break”)) + -fōrmis (suffix meaning ‘having the form of’) (equivalent to -form, -iform). The English word is cognate with French claviforme. By surface analysis, clav(a) + -i- + form. The noun is probably derived from the adjective.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: *kelh₂-, clāvifōrmis, clāva, *(s)kleh₂w-, clāvus, clāvis

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈklævɪˌfɔɹm/
British English: /ˈklævɪfɔːm/

Inflected Forms

more claviform (comparative) most claviform (superlative) claviforms (plural)

Synonyms

clavate clubbed

Questions

How do you pronounce claviform?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈklævɪˌfɔɹm/.
What does claviform mean?: Larger at the tip than at the base; club-shaped.
Where does claviform come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce claviform

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Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈklævɪˌfɔɹm/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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