Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Autoclave \Au"to*clave\, n. [F., fr. Gr. a'yto`s self + L.
   clavis key.]
   A kind of French stewpan with a steam-tight lid. --Knight.

Source : WordNet®

autoclave
     n : a device for heating substances above their boiling point;
         used to manufacture chemicals or to sterilize surgical
         instruments [syn: {sterilizer}, {steriliser}]
     v : subject to the action of an autoclave