I. ˈe]nˌklāv, ˈä] also ]ŋˌk- sometimes ˈä...läv or ˈä...lȧv\ noun
( -s )
Etymology: French, from Middle French, from enclaver, v.
1. : a tract or territory enclosed within foreign territory ; also : a district or region (as in a city) inhabited by a particular race or set apart for a special purpose — compare exclave
2.
a. : something enclosed in an organ or tissue but not a continuous part thereof
b. : a small often relict community of one kind of plant in an opening of a larger plant community
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: French enclaver, from Old French, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin inclavare to enclose, lock up, from Latin in + (assumed) Vulgar Latin -clavare (from clavis key); akin to Latin claudere to close — more at close
: to enclose within or encircle or surround by alien or foreign territory