LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

clāvis

clāvis f (genitive clāvis)
Classical[ˈkɫaː.wɪs]Ecclesiastical[ˈklaː.vis]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. a key
    Post hanc orationem claves portarum pecuniaeque regiae ante pedes eorum posuit.After this discourse he laid the keys of the gates and of the royal treasure at their feet.27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita 24
    […] et videntes quod nullus aperiret tulerunt clavem et aperientes invenerunt dominum suum iacentem in terra mortuum[…] and, behold, he did not open the doors; therefore they took a key and opened [the doors] to enter [but] their lord was lying dead on the ground.c. 347 CE – 420 CE, Hieronymus, Vulgate Iudicum.3.25
  2. abbreviationellipsisellipsis of clāvis trochī, an instrument in the form of a key, by which a top was set in motion
  3. a lever or bar for tightening a screw press
    […] seriam vinariam unam, clavem torculari I […]234 BCE – 149 BCE, Marcus Porcius Cato, Agri 13

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

ferrum parvum quō iānuam claudimus.
clāvis -is f — in Mille Verba, Domus et Familia
ferrum parvum, quō iānua aperītur
clāvis -is (f) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 24

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeclāvisclāvēs
genitiveclāvisclāvium
dativeclāvīclāvibus
accusativeclāvem
clāvim		clāvēs
clāvīs
ablativeclāve
clāvī		clāvibus
vocativeclāvisclāvēs

clāvis (clāves, acc. to Pompon. Comment. p. 459), is, f. (acc. commonly clavem, clavim, Plaut. Most. 2, 1, 78; Tib. 2, 4, 31; cf. Paul ex Fest. p. 56 Müll.;
I. Don. p. 1750 P., Charis. p. 101 ib.; abl. clavi and clave: clavi, Varr. R. R. 1, 22 fin., App. M. 1, 14, p. 108; Dig. 48, 8, 1, § 3; Serv. ad Verg. A. 10, 252; cf. Charis. l. l.: clave, Juv. 15, 158; App. M. 9, 20, p. 226; Dig. 21, 1, 17, § 15; cf. Neue, Formenl. 1, 199) [root klu-, v. claudo], a key: clavim cedo, Plaut Most. 2, 1, 78: clavem abduxi, id. Cas. 5, 2, 7: omnis horreorum clavis tradidisti, Cic. Dom. 10, 25: alias clavis portis imposuit, Liv. 27, 24, 8: unā portarum clave teneri, Juv. 15, 158: aptare claves foribus, Mart. 9, 47, 2: adulterinae portarum, false keys, Sall. J 12, 3; cf.: clavis adultera, Ov. A. A. 3, 643: sub clavi esse, to be shut up, Varr. R. R. 1, 22 fin.; cf.: Caecuba Servata centum clavibus, Hor C. 2, 14, 26: claves tradere, as an indication of the delivering up of the household (for possession or oversight), Dig. 18, 1, 74; 31, 77, § 21: claves adimere uxori, to separate from her, Cic. Phil. 2, 28, 69: Laconica, a peculiar key with several wards, used only for fastening from the outside, Plaut. Most. 2, 1, 57 Lorenz ad loc.—
II. Esp.
A. Clavis trochi, an instrument in the form of a key, by which a top was set in motion, Prop. 3 (4), 14, 6.—*
B. Clavis torculari, a lerer, bar (French, clef), Cato, R. R. 13, 1 Schneid. N. cr., and Comm. p. 57.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *klāwis, itself an i-stem derivation of the Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂u- (“nail, pin, hook - instruments, of old use for locking doors”) which gave also Latin clāvus (“nail”), an inherited Indo-European word originally denoting an instrument for unlocking doors.

Borrowings
  • Englishclavis
  • Portugueseclave
  • Spanishclave
  • Englishclavefrom Spanish clave
  • Russianклавишаfrom Polish klawisz
Insular Romance
  • Sardiniancrae
  • Sardiniancrai
Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanclau
  • Occitanclaufrom Old Occitan clau
  • Franco-Provençalcllâf
  • Old Frenchclef
Balkano-Romance
  • Romaniancheie
  • Aromaniancljai
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianchiave
  • Corsicanchjave
  • Corsicanchjavi
  • Dalmatiancluf
  • Istriotciave
  • Neapolitanchiave
  • Sicilianchiavi
  • Sicilianciavi
  • Venetanciave
Ibero-Romance
  • Spanishllave
  • Ribagorçancllaufrom Aragonese clau
  • Asturianllave
  • Asturianchave
  • Mirandesechabe
  • Old Galician-Portuguesechave
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianclâf
  • Friulianclâv
  • Ladinchiëf
  • Romanshclav
  • Romanshclev
Gallo-Italic
  • Emiliancèv
  • Emilianciàṿ
  • Ligurianciave
  • Lombardciav
  • Lombardciaf
  • Piedmonteseciav
  • Romagnolcêv

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesClavisClavis (κλείς, dim. κλειδίον), a key. In Homer the κλεὶς is not a key in the modern meaning of the word, but rather a hook (having a leathern thong) w…

Quick answers

What does clāvis mean in Latin?
clāvis, a noun, means “a key; ellipsis of clāvis trochī, an instrument in the form of a key, by which a top was set in motion; a lever or bar for tightening a screw press”.
What is the genitive of clāvis?
The genitive singular is clāvis. clāvis is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce clāvis?
In classical Latin, [ˈkɫaː.wɪs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈklaː.vis].