Nelke

== German == === Etymology === Borrowed from Middle Low German nēgelke(n) (“little spike, nail”), from Old Saxon nagal (“nail”). Doublet of Nägelchen and Nägelein (archaic). Low German-looking forms are already found in Middle High German negelkīn alongside negelīn; the contraction is first attested in Central German Nelekin. The feminine form in -e is a backformation from the plural. The name is due to the typical form of cloves; compare Latin clāvulus (“clove”), from clāvus (“nail”), of which the German form may be a loan translation. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): [ˈnɛlkə] === Noun === Nelke f (genitive Nelke, plural Nelken) clove (aromatic flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum) [from 13th c.] Synonym: Gewürznelke carnation, pink (Dianthus caryophyllus) (named by analogy for its clove-like smell) [from 15th c.] ==== Declension ==== ==== Related terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== → Cimbrian: nelke → Estonian: nelk → Latvian: neļķe === Further reading === “Nelke” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache “Nelke” in Duden online