Nelke

See also: nelke and neļķe

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]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Nelke f (genitive Nelke, plural Nelken)

1. clove (aromatic flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum) [from 13th c.]

   Synonym: Gewürznelke

2. carnation, pink (Dianthus caryophyllus) (named by analogy for its clove-like smell) [from 15th c.]

Declension

Declension of Nelke [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Nelke	die	Nelken
genitive	einer	der	Nelke	der	Nelken
dative	einer	der	Nelke	den	Nelken
accusative	eine	die	Nelke	die	Nelken

Related terms

• Federnelke
• Gartennelke
• Gewürznelkenbaum
• Grasnelke
• Kartäusernelke
• Lichtnelke
• Nägelchen
• Nelkengewächs
• Nelkenöl
• Nelkenpfeffer
• Nelkenschwindling
• Nelkenstrauß
• Nelkenwurz
• Pechnelke
• Pissnelke
• Steinnelke
• Strandgrasnelke

 

Descendants

• → Cimbrian: nelke
• → Latvian: neļķe

Further reading

• “Nelke” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Nelke” in Duden online