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conclave

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: cónclave

English

WOTD – 7 May 2025

Etymology

PIE word
*ḱóm
Achille Beltrame, Cónclave en la Capilla Sixtina para la elección del nuevo Papa (Conclave in the Sistine Chapel for the Election of the New Pope, 1903). The painting depicts the conclave in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City which elected Pope Pius X.

The noun is derived from Late Middle English conclave (“private chamber; (Roman Catholicism) private room where election of the Pope takes place; meeting held for this purpose”),[1] borrowed from Middle French conclave (modern French conclave), or directly from its etymon Latin conclāve (“chamber, room; enclosed space that can be locked; dining hall”), from con- (prefix denoting a being or bringing together of several objects) (combining form of cum (“(along) with”)) + clāvis (“key”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w- (“(noun) crook, hook; peg; (verb) to close”)).[2]

The verb is derived from the noun.

Pronunciation

Noun

conclave (plural conclaves)

  1. (Roman Catholicism)
    1. The set of apartments in which cardinals are secluded while the process to elect a pope takes place.
      • 1867, J[ohn] S[herren] Brewer, “Introduction”, in Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII. […], volume III, part I, London: Longmans, Green, Reader, & Dyer, →OCLC, pages cxcviii–cxcix:
        On Friday, St. John's Day, the 27th of December, the cardinals entered the conclave. […] Two hours before nightfall, the whole body met again in a chapel within the conclave, and after the bull of pope Julius [II] against simoniacal practices had been read, every cardinal, in the presence of the foreign ambassadors, took his corporal oath upon the Holy Evangelists to observe the bull to the best of his abilities.
    2. A group of cardinals assembled to elect a new pope.
      1. (by extension, loosely) The cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church collectively.
    3. A closed assembly at which cardinals elect a pope.
      in conclave
      papal conclave
      • a. 1639 (date written), Henry Wotton, “[Letters, &c. and Characters of Sundry Personages, […].] A Character of Ferdinando di Medici, Gran Duke of Tuscany.”, in Reliquiæ Wottonianæ. Or, A Collection of Lives, Letters, Poems; […], London: […] Thomas Maxey, for R[ichard] Marriot, G[abriel] Bedel, and T[imothy] Garthwait, published 1651, →OCLC, page 360:
        The ſaid Duke Ferdinando [I de’ Medici] vvas reputed a vviſe and vvarie Prince, and it vvas a ſolid vviſdom rather than a Formall. He had been long a Cardinall, and at tvvo or three Conclaves (as they call them) or Elections of Popes.
      • 1685 March 4 (Gregorian calendar), Robert South, “Sermon VIII. All Contingencies under the Direction of God's Providence [Preached at Westminster Abbey, February 22, 1684–5].”, in Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions. […], new edition, volume I, London: […] Thomas Tegg, […], published 1843, →OCLC, page 327:
        [W]e find it once said of an eminent Cardinal, by reaſon of his great and apparent Likelihood to ſtep into St. Peter’s Chair, that in two Conclaves he went in Pope, and came out again Cardinal.
        The spelling has been modernized.
      • 2013 February 26, Laurie Goodstein, “Now gathering in Rome, a conclave of fallible cardinals”, in The New York Times‎[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2025-03-13:
        His [Keith O'Brien's] exit came as at least a dozen other cardinals tarnished with accusations that they had failed to remove priests accused of sexually abusing minors were among those gathering in Rome to prepare for the conclave to select a successor to Pope Benedict XVI.
      1. (by extension) A closed, private, or secret meeting, especially one of an ecclesiastical nature.
        • 1569, Richard Grafton, “Henry the Seconde”, in A Chronicle at Large and Meere History of the Affayres of Englande […], volume II, London: […] Henry Denham, […], for Richarde Tottle and Humffrey Toye, →OCLC, page 60:
          The morrow after which was the thirde daye of the Counſayle, as the Archbiſhop was ſitting beneth in a conclaue with his felow Biſhops about him, conſulting together, the ſayde Biſhops labored by ſundry wayes and meanes, and with verie vehement perſwaſions and learned arguments to wyll him to obedience and to ſubmit himſelfe to the king, […]
        • 1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC, signature D, verso, lines 794–797:
          The great Seraphic Lords and Cherubim / In cloſe receſs and ſecret conclave ſat / A thouſand Demy-Gods on golden ſeat's, / Frequent and full.
        • 1808 February 22, Walter Scott, “Canto Second. The Convent.”, in Marmion; a Tale of Flodden Field, Edinburgh: […] J[ames] Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Company, […]; London: William Miller, and John Murray, →OCLC, stanza XXXII, pages 110–111:
          Appalled the astonished conclave sate; / With stupid eyes, the men of fate / Gazed on the light inspired form, / And listened for the avenging storm; […]
        • 1845, B[enjamin] Disraeli, chapter III, in Sybil; or The Two Nations. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, book V, page 40:
          Now you are all dispersed and scattered: no discussions, no committees, little correspondence—and you yourself are ever brooding and ever in conclave, with persons too who I know, for Stephen has told me so, are the preachers of violence: […]
        • 1856 December, [Thomas Babington] Macaulay, “[Contributions to the Encyclopædia Britannica.] Samuel Johnson.”, in T[homas] F[lower] E[llis], editor, The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, new edition, London: Longman, Green, Reader, & Dyer, published 1871, →OCLC, page 386:
          Some of these [friends of Johnson], in 1764, formed themselves into a club, which gradually became a formidable power in the commonwealth of letters. The verdicts pronounced by this conclave on new books were speedily known over all London, and were sufficient to sell off a whole edition in a day, or to condemn the sheets to the service of the trunk-maker and the pastry-cook.
        • 1887, Mrs. Dominic D[aniel] Daly [i.e., Harriet Douglas Daly], “1870–71”, in Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, […], →OCLC, page 104:
          No one knew that piece of country, and it was vain to expect that they could make the journey entirely without a contretemps of some kind or other. Therefore the safe return of the Roper party was the usual topic of our nightly conclaves in the verandah.
        • 1897 July, [Spencer Roane] Atkinson, justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia, “Shackelford vs. Supreme Conclave Knights of Damon”, in Walter S. Nichols, editor, The Insurance Law Journal: Reports of Decisions Rendered in Insurance Cases in the Federal Courts, and in the State Supreme Courts, volume VI (New Series; volume XXVI overall), New York, N.Y.: C. C. Hine […], →OCLC, page 562:
          It appears that the subordinate conclave of which the deceased was a member was organized by a person who was recognized by the defendant as having full authority to organize and institute subordinate conclaves. A subordinate lodge or conclave was organized, into which, according to the contention of the plaintiff, the deceased was admitted as a charter member, […]
        • 2014 January 18, Larry Elliott, Jill Treanor, “Davos faces up to weak growth and rising inequality”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian‎[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-11-13:
          More than 2,500 of globalisation's movers and shakers gather for their annual four-day mountaintop conclave this week, aware that the world is still being shaken by the events of half a decade ago.
  2. (obsolete) A private chamber or room.
    Synonym: (obsolete) closet
    • 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “New Atlantis. A Worke Vnfinished.”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC, page 13:
      [W]e in Europe, (notvvithſtanding all the remote Diſcoueries, and Nauigations of this laſt Age) neuer heard any of the leaſt Inkling or Glimſe of this Iſland. […] [W]ee neuer heard tell of any Shipp of theirs, that had been ſeene to arriue vpon any ſhore of Europe; […] For the Situation of it (as his Lordſhip ſaid,) in the ſecret Conclaue of ſuch a vaſt Sea mought cauſe it.
      A figurative use.
    • a. 1647 (date written), John Gregorie [i.e., John Gregory], “A Discourse of the LXX Interpreters; the Place, and Manner of Their Interpretation”, in The Works of the Reverend and Learned Mr. John Gregorie, […], 4th edition, London: […] M. Clark, for Rich[ard] Royston […], Benj[amin] Tooke […], and Tho[mas] Sawbridge […], published 1684, →OCLC, page 12:
      […] John Zonaras [Joannes Zonaras] […] vvriteth […] That the Interpreters of the Lavv [the translators of the Septuagint] vvere divided into couples, and that they vvere placed every one in a ſeveral Conclave: […]
    • a. 1707 (date written), John Evelyn, “Of the Horn-beam”, in Silva: Or, A Discourse of Forest-trees, and the Propagation of Timber in His Majesty’s Dominions: […], London: […] J. Walthoe, […], published 1729, →OCLC, book I, page 49:
      [P]lacing the Caſes, Pots, &c. under this Shelter, vvhen either at the firſt Peeping out of the VVinter Concleave, or during the increaſing Heat of Summer, they ſo are ranged and diſpoſed, as to adorn a noble Area of a moſt magnificent Paradiſian Dining-Room to the Top of Hortulean Pomp and Bliſs, ſuperior to all the artificial Furniture of the greateſt Prince's Court.
      A figurative use.
    • 1753 November 20 (date written), Mary Granville, Mrs. Delany, “Mrs. Delany to Mrs. Dewes”, in Lady Llanover [i.e., Augusta Hall, Baroness Llanover], editor, The Autobiography and Correspondence of Mary Granville, Mrs. Delany: […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], published 1861, →OCLC, page 241:
      [T]he Duchess has fitted up the little room out of her conclave that opens into the garden in the Gothic taste, and made it the prettiest cell you can imagine.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

conclave (third-person singular simple present conclaves, present participle conclaving, simple past and past participle conclaved) (intransitive)

  1. To participate in a closed, private, or secret meeting.
    • 1840 May 1, Lynx [pseudonym], “Being an Anecdotal Introduction to the Third”, in The Comic Novel or Downing St. and the Days of Victoria, […], number IV, London: H. Bailliere, […], →OCLC, page 5:
      [N]or […] were a group of the miserably destitute ever discovered conclaved gravely in the committee-room, where the Board of Directors are usually occupied in breaking hearts—while the said board were hammering might and main in the yard, where the miserably destitute are usually occupied in breaking stones.
    • 1847, “A Manual of Gothic Architecture. By F. A. Paley, M.A. With Seventy Illustrations. John Van Voorst, Paternoster Row. [book review]”, in The Magazine of Science and School of Arts: Intended to Illustrate the Most Useful, Novel, and Interesting Parts of Natural History and Experimental Philosophy, Artistical Processes, Ornamental Manufactures and the Arts of Life, volume IX, London: W. Brittain, →OCLC, page 67, column 1:
      That Mr. [Frederick Apthorp] Paley is no impassionate member of the Camden Brotherhood, as conclaved at Cambridge,—no luke-warm laggard either in his enthusiastic admiration of Middle-Aged Gothicisms, or in his derisive and unworthy deprecation of "Classic Christianisms," will be immediately inferred from the following passage, […]
    • 1881, Adra [pseudonym; Edward Fitch], “Calder Abbey: A Legend of the Brothers There”, in Legends of Lakeland, Scarborough, Yorkshire: S. W. Theakston & Co., […], →OCLC, stanza LXXXIV, page 86:
      [N]oble Rivaulx' shrine, whose frequent tolling bells / Disturbed our holy conclaved monks in hours of fast and prayer, […]
      An adjective use.
    • 1899 January 5, “The Week”, in The Chronicle: A Weekly Insurance Journal, volume LXIII, number 4, New York, N.Y.: The Chronicle Company, […], →OCLC, page 37, column 1:
      We have learned during the past week that a report of a committee to suggest reorganization of a tariff association is not a source of reorganization alone. It is also a source of as much mysterious head-shaking and secret conclaving as if the esteemed and respectable members of the committee were perpetrators of dark, dank deeds.
    • 1911 February 23, Arnold Bennett, “His Burglary”, in The Card: A Story of Adventure in the Five Towns (Methuen’s Colonial Library), 2nd edition, London: Methuen & Co. […], published February 1911, →OCLC, section V, page 148:
      The tenants, conclaving together of an evening on doorsteps, had come to the conclusion that the Universal Thrift Club was the very contrivance which they lacked for years.
    • 1953 July 11, “[Frank] Wirth to Produce Big Show for Shriners’ N.Y. Confab”, in Roger S. Littleford Jr., editor, The Billboard: The Amusement Industry’s Leading Newsweekly, volume 65, number 28, Cincinnati, Oh.: Roger S. Littleford Jr.; William D. Littleford, →OCLC, page 50, column 3:
      The Shrine organization, which staged a similar pageant in 1951 when last they conclaved here, departed from usual policy when it announced this week that the public would be admitted to the spectacle […]
    • 2001, Martin E[mil] Marty, “Conclusion”, in Santosh C. Saha, Thomas K. Carr, editors, Religious Fundamentalism in Developing Countries (Contributions to the Study of Religion; 65), Westport, Conn.; London: Greenwood Press, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 201:
      [A]fter we had gone to press with a succession of annual volumes, [R. Scott] Appleby, Gabriel Almond, emeritus at Stanford, and Emanuel Sivan from Israel, conclaved on Almond's patio and shook, sifted, and ordered common features, coming up with grids that appear in our fifth volume, Fundamentalisms Comprehended.
    • 2002 February, Kay Kenyon, chapter 15, in Maximum Ice (A Bantam Spectra Book), New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 285:
      So Nit stood guard, pretending to be busy but keeping a lookout for the nuns, who were absent today, conclaving over who would take over Sister Patricia Margaret's stewardship.
  2. (Roman Catholicism) Of a cardinal: to attend a closed assembly to elect a pope.
    • 2002, Brent Dorian Carpenter, “Conclave”, in Man of the Cloth, [Bloomington, Ind.]: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 100:
      At Cardinal Verdi's urging the College of Cardinals at last conclaved behind locked doors, slipping into the heavily guarded Sistine Chapel through the underground tunnels for their deliberations.
    • 2007, Peter M. Sciarrotta, “Seeing is Believing”, in The Seven Angels of the Apocalypse, 2nd edition, Bloomington, Ind.; Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire: AuthorHouse, →ISBN:
      "Brothers, we have a Pope!" Bennelli exclaimed. "But I request that you remain conclaved, until I consult the man whom we elected. I shall return within the hour."
      An adjective use.

Derived terms

Translations

References

  1. ^ “conclāve, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ^ “conclave, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2024; “conclave, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

Asturian

Noun

conclave m (plural conclaves)

  1. conclave

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin conclave.

Pronunciation

Noun

conclave m (plural conclaves)

  1. conclave
    Synonym: conclau

French

Pronunciation

Noun

conclave m (plural conclaves)

  1. conclave

Further reading

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin conclāve.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /konˈkla.ve/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -ave
  • Hyphenation: con‧clà‧ve

Noun

conclave m (plural conclavi)

  1. conclave

Derived terms

Latin

Etymology

    From con- +‎ clāvis (“key”).

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    conclāve n (genitive conclāvis); third declension

    1. room, chamber
    2. enclosed space that can be locked
    3. dining hall

    Declension

    Third-declension noun (neuter, pure i-stem).

    singular plural
    nominative conclāve conclāvia
    genitive conclāvis conclāvium
    dative conclāvī conclāvibus
    accusative conclāve conclāvia
    ablative conclāvī conclāvibus
    vocative conclāve conclāvia

    Descendants

    References

    • “conclave”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
    • “conclave”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
    • "conclave", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
    • conclave in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
    • “conclave”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
    • “conclave”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

    Portuguese

    Portuguese Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia pt

    Etymology

    Ultimately from Latin conclāve.

    Pronunciation

     
     

    • Rhymes: -avi, -avɨ
    • Hyphenation: con‧cla‧ve

    Noun

    conclave m (plural conclaves)

    1. (Roman Catholicism) conclave (meeting to select a new pope)
      • 1994, Dadeus Grings, “A Igreja divivida” (chapter 18), in Dialética da política: história dialética do Cristianismo (Teologia; 1), Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, Tese 18: Espítiro mesquinho, page 167:
        Eram somente 16 os cardeais que se encontravam em Roma, por ocasião da morte de Gregório IX. Sete estavam muito longe. Mesmo assim, por determinação expressa do Papa, antes de morrer, deveriam proceder logo à eleição do sucessor. Deve-se notar que os cardeais levaram a sério sua missão, procurando escolher realmente o melhor, como já haviam feito nos dois conclaves anteriores, em Avinhão.
        (please add an English translation of this quotation)
      • 2025 April 23, “Bloco conservador perde força no Conclave após dois cardeais anunciarem ausência”, in g1‎[3], Rio de Janeiro: Globo, archived from the original on 2025-04-23:
        Até quatro votações podem ocorrer diariamente, com duas pela manhã e duas à tarde. Se, após o terceiro dia de conclave, a Igreja continuar sem papa, será feita uma pausa de 24 horas para orações. Outra pausa poderá ser convocada após sete rodadas sem um eleito.
        Up to four votings may occur daily, with two during the morning and two in the afternoon. If, after the third day of conclave, the Church still remains without a Pope, a 24 hour break shall be made for prayers. Another break could be summoned after seven rounds without an elect.
    2. (Roman Catholicism) conclave (group of cardinals assembled to elect a new pope)
      • 1855, Alexandre Herculano, “Livro IV”, in Da origem e estabelecimento da inquisição em Portugal. Tentativa historica, volume 2, Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional, page 66:
        Fallecido Clemente vii a 25 de septembro e reunido o conclave, começaram os enredos eleitoraes.
        (please add an English translation of this quotation)
    3. (Roman Catholicism) conclave (set of apartments in which cardinals are secluded while the process to elect a pope takes place)
      • 2014 March, “A Eleição e os Primeiros Dias Seguintes (Outubro-Dezembro de 1958)” (chapter 7), in Sofia Leitão Söndergaard, transl., O Bom Papa, Parede: Lucerna, translation of The Good Pope by Greg Tobin, →ISBN, page 105:
        No sábado dia 25 de outubro de 1958, às 18.08 horas, o sino do Pátio de São Dâmaso tocou por três vezes, anunciando que estava na altura de fechar as portas e selar as janelas do conclave para a eleição do sucessor de São Pedro.
        [original: On Saturday, October 25, 1958, at 6:08 p.m., the bell in the Court of Saint Damasus tolled three times, announcing that it was time to close the doors and seal the windows of the conclave for the election of the successor of Saint Peter.]
      • 2024 November 7, João Garção Borges, “Conclave”, in Metropolis‎[4], Portugal, archived from the original on 2025-05-01:
        Esta opção contribui para credibilizar de modo sereno o que se passa não apenas entre as quatro paredes do conclave mas igualmente nos restantes e diversificados espaços do Vaticano.
        (please add an English translation of this quotation)
    4. (by extension) conclave (private and secret meeting)
      Near-synonyms: encontro, reunião
      • 1981 September, Octávio Ribeiro Ratto, “XXI Congresso da Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisiologia”, Noticiário, in Jornal Brasileiro de Pneumologia, volume 7, number 3, Brasília: SBPT, page 186, column 1:
        Como é do conhecimento de todos, o próximo Congresso da Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisiologia será realizado em 1982, na cidade de São Paulo, em data a ser brevemente anunciada. Para tomar as devidas providências que requer um Congresso Nacional de tamanha magnitude, já foram constituídas as diversas Comissões que se encarregarão da organização e programação do conclave em consideração.
        As is of evereyone's knowledge, the next Congress of the Brazilian Society of Pneumology and Phthisiology will be taking place in 1982, in the city of São Paulo, in a date soon to be announced. In order to make the proper providences that a National Congress of such magnitude requires, the several Commissions that will be put in charge of the organization and programming of the conclave in question were already constituted.

    Further reading

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