A small key or the Latin diminutive form of 'clavis' (key); also an archaic or technical term in anatomy or botany.
From Latin 'clavis' (key) + '-culus' (diminutive suffix). The term literally means 'little key' and appears in various technical and medieval contexts.
The Romans were brilliant at creating diminutive words by adding '-culus' to nouns, and 'claviculus' demonstrates how even common objects like keys got the 'little' treatment—the clavicle bone got its name because it's a tiny, key-shaped structure connecting larger bones.
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