clou

clou

See also: Clou

English

Etymology

From French clou. Doublet of clove.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kluː/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uː

Noun

clou (plural clous)

1. Something which holds the greatest attention; the chief point of interest.
   • 1911, Max Beerbohm, Zuleika Dobson:

     But had he not refused her the wherewithal to remember him—the pearls she needed as the clou of her dear collection, the great relic among relics?

   • 1994, Richard Abel, The Ciné Goes to Town: French Cinema, 1896-1914, page 70:

     Partly because they were constructed of multiple shot-scenes and recorded exclusively in LS, their elaborate decors acquired an even more privileged role — as tableaux and clous of spectacle — much in the manner of late nineteenth-century French stage productions […]

Anagrams

• ULOC

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Catalan

Verb

clou

1. third-person singular present indicative form of cloure
2. second-person singular imperative form of cloure

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Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French clou.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /klu/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: clou
• Rhymes: -u

Noun

clou m (plural clous)

1. punch line

Synonyms

• pointe

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Finnish

Etymology

Borrowed from French clou.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkluː/, [ˈkluː]
• IPA^(key): /ˈklou̯/, [ˈklo̞u̯]

Noun

clou

1. highlight (high point of an occasion, press release etc.)

Declension

Inflection of clou (Kotus type 21/rosé, no gradation)
nominative		clou	clout
genitive		cloun	clouiden clouitten
partitive		clouta	clouita
illative		clouhun	clouihin
		singular	plural
nominative		clou	clout
accusative	nom.	clou	clout
	gen.	cloun
genitive		cloun	clouiden clouitten
partitive		clouta	clouita
inessive		cloussa	clouissa
elative		clousta	clouista
illative		clouhun	clouihin
adessive		cloulla	clouilla
ablative		cloulta	clouilta
allative		cloulle	clouille
essive		clouna	clouina
translative		clouksi	clouiksi
instructive		—	clouin
abessive		cloutta	clouitta
comitative		—	clouineen

Possessive forms of clou (type rosé)
possessor	singular	plural
1st person	clouni	cloumme
2nd person	clousi	clounne
3rd person	clounsa

Synonyms

• kohokohta

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French

Etymology

From Old French clou, from Latin clāvus, from Proto-Italic *klāwos, from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂u-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /klu/

• audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -u

Noun

clou m (plural clous)

1. nail (metal pin)
2. clove (of garlic)
3. (figurative) highlight, climax
4. (usually in the plural, des clous) not likely, no way, you'll be so lucky

Derived terms

• clou d'ail
• clou de girofle
• clouer
• dans les clous
• enfoncer le clou
• maigre comme un clou

 

Descendants

• → Dutch: clou
• → English: clou
• → Finnish: clou
• → German: Clou
• → Italian: clou
• → Polish: clou

Further reading

• “clou”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from French clou. Doublet of chiavo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈklu/^**
• Rhymes: -u

Noun

clou m (invariable)

1. (also relational) highlight (high point of an occasion)

   la mossa clou della partita ― the standout move of the match

Anagrams

• culo, luco

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Middle English

Noun

clou

1. Alternative form of clough

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Polish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French clou, from Old French clou, from Latin clāvus, from Proto-Italic *klāwos, from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂u-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /klu/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -u
• Syllabification: clou

Noun

clou n (indeclinable)

1. clou (chief point of interest)

Further reading

• clou in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• clou in Polish dictionaries at PWN

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Romanian

Etymology

From French clou.

Noun

clou n (plural clou-uri)

1. highlight, climax of a show

Declension

Declension of clou

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) clou	clouul	(niște) clou-uri	clou-urile
genitive/dative	(unui) clou	clouului	(unor) clou-uri	clou-urilor
vocative	clouule		clou-urilor

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Welsh

Pronunciation

• (North Wales) IPA^(key): /klɔɨ̯/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /klɔi̯/

Adjective

clou (feminine singular clou, plural clou, equative cloued, comparative clouach, superlative clouaf)

1. (South Wales) fast, quick

Synonyms

• cyflym

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
clou	glou	nghlou	chlou
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.