Dried flower buds of an evergreen tree used as a spice, having a strong aromatic flavor. Plural can also refer to segments of garlic bulbs.
From Old French 'clou' meaning 'nail,' because the dried spice buds resemble small nails with their rounded heads and pointed stems. The word entered English in the 13th century through the spice trade. The garlic sense comes from the shape similarity.
The spice cloves got their name because medieval Europeans thought they looked like little nails - 'clou' in Old French. This same visual metaphor gave us the expression 'hit the nail on the head,' and explains why we call garlic segments 'cloves' too. It's remarkable how one simple shape comparison has lasted nearly a thousand years.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.