Definition of EXCLAVE

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

Recent Examples on the Web In March, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Russia had blocked the United States from flying reconnaissance missions over the exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea and the southern border with Georgia. — Author: John Hudson, Paul Sonne, Anchorage Daily News, "Trump administration to withdraw from Open Skies treaty in further erosion of arms-control pacts with Russia," 21 May 2020 Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin ordered his country's borders fully closed as of Monday, exempting diplomats as well as residents of the exclave of the Kaliningrad region. — Kat Stafford, Martha Irvine, Anchorage Daily News, "‘Off the charts’: Virus hotspots grow in middle America," 29 Mar. 2020 With fewer than 2,000 residents, the exclave results from a territorial adjustment in the 16th century. — The Economist, "Goodbye casino, hello smugglers A tiny Italian exclave unwillingly joins the EU’s customs union," 2 Jan. 2020 Deployed across Russia, from its Kaliningrad exclave in the Baltics to Vladivostok in the Far East, the S-400 has also become a successful export product. — Ann M. Simmons, WSJ, "Turkey Receives Russian Missile System, Risking U.S. Sanctions," 12 July 2019 Antiship missiles reinforce Kuril Island defenses, and there are short-range ballistic Iskander missiles in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, between Lithuania and Poland. — Thomas Grove, WSJ, "The New Iron Curtain: Russian Missile Defense Challenges U.S. Air Power," 23 Jan. 2019 Vaindloo is near a corridor where Russian military and cargo planes fly to get from the St. Petersburg area to the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad. — Fox News, "Estonia says Russian plane violates airspace," 12 Mar. 2018 Englishmen who couldn't find flights were arriving in the Russian exclave by bus from neighboring Poland and reported several security checks and delays around the border. — Rob Harris, Fox News, "Loophole exposed to get easier entry to World Cup in Russia," 28 June 2018 The 40-mile-wide corridor is hemmed in by the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on one side and Belarus, a Russian ally, on the other. — Michael Birnbaum, Washington Post, "How U.S. troops could get stuck in a traffic jam on their way to fend off war with Russia," 24 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'exclave.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.