exclave

noun

ex·​clave ˈek-ˌsklāv 

-ˌskläv

: a portion of a country separated from the main part and constituting an enclave in respect to the surrounding territory

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

The Polish military said a Russian military helicopter briefly violated Poland’s airspace Wednesday on the country’s border with Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave. — ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026

The first is the new S11 chip, which features a secure exclave for microphone data processing on top of a faster CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine. — Victoria Song, The Verge, 17 Sep. 2026

The menace of drones has repeatedly loomed over the skies of Lithuania, which shares borders with Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. — Liudas Dapkus, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026

Her comments come after the mass migration chaos in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, when Frederiksen criticized the actions of Spain's leftist leader, Pedro Sánchez, during a special session on Ceuta in the Danish Parliament. — Tyler Speicher, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

ex- + -clave (as in enclave)

First Known Use

1888, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for exclave

• agave
• behave
• concave
• conclave
• enclave
• engrave
• enslave
• forgave
• landgrave
• margrave
• shortwave
• aftershave

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