Nelke

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.

• IPA^(key): [ˈnɛlkə]

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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.]

• → Cimbrian: nelke
• → Latvian: neļķe

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