clou

Etymology

From French clou. Doublet of clove.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kluː/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uː
• Homophones: clue, clew

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈklɔw]

Verb

clou

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

Etymology

Borrowed from French clou.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /klu/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: clou
• Rhymes: -u

Noun

clou m (plural clous)

1. punch line

Etymology

Borrowed from French clou.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

clou

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

Further reading

• “clou”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02

Etymology

Inherited 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

Further reading

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

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

Noun

clou

1. Alternative form of clough

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French clou.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈklu/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -u
• Syllabification: clou

Noun

clou n (indeclinable)

1. clou (something which holds the greatest attention; the chief point of interest)

Further reading

• clou in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Etymology

Borrowed from French clou.

Noun

clou n (plural clou-uri)

1. highlight, climax of a show

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

Mutation