exclave
noun
Did you know?
You probably won't be surprised to learn that the key to "exclave" is found in "enclave." "Enclave" itself ultimately derives from the Latin word for "key," which is "clavis." It was adopted in the mid-19th century from Middle French enclaver ("to enclose"), which in turn derives (through Vulgar Latin) from in- and clavis. "Exclave" was formed about twenty years later by combining the prefix ex- and the "-clave" of "enclave." Other "clavis" descendants in English include "autoclave," "clavicle," "conclave," and "clavichord" ("an early keyboard instrument in use before the piano").
Examples of exclave in a Sentence
Jason D. Greenblatt, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Apr. 2025
Lithuania and Poland bracket the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, where Moscow bases its Baltic Sea naval fleet, and both NATO countries share significant land borders with Belarus, Moscow's key ally.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Apr. 2025
Lithuania and Poland bracket the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, where Moscow bases its Baltic Sea naval fleet, and both NATO countries share significant land borders with key Russia ally, Belarus.
—Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Mar. 2025
The landlocked exclave is bordered by Armenia, Iran and Turkey.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for exclave
Cite this Entry
“Exclave.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exclave. Accessed 22 May. 2025.
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