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cleave. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
cleave, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
cleave in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
cleave you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English cleven, from the Old English strong verb clēofan (“to split, to separate”), from Proto-West Germanic *kleuban, from Proto-Germanic *kleubaną, from Proto-Indo-European *glewbʰ- (“to cut, to slice”).
Doublet of clive. Cognate with Dutch klieven, dialectal German klieben, Swedish klyva, Norwegian Nynorsk kløyva; also Ancient Greek γλύφω (glúphō, “carve”).
Verb
cleave (third-person singular simple present cleaves, present participle cleaving, simple past cleft or clove or (UK) cleaved or (archaic) clave, past participle cleft or cloven or (UK) cleaved)
- (transitive) To split or sever something with, or as if with, a sharp instrument.
The wings cleaved the foggy air.
c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain.
- (transitive, mineralogy) To break a single crystal (such as a gemstone or semiconductor wafer) along one of its more symmetrical crystallographic planes (often by impact), forming facets on the resulting pieces.
- (transitive) To make or accomplish by or as if by cutting.
The truck cleaved a path through the ice.
- (transitive) (chemistry) To split (a complex molecule) into simpler molecules.
- (intransitive) To split.
- (intransitive, mineralogy) Of a crystal, to split along a natural plane of division.
Derived terms
Translations
transitive to split or sever
- Arabic: شَقَّ (šaqqa), فَسَخَ (fasaḵa), صَدَعَ (ṣadaʕa), فَلَقَ (falaqa), شَرَمَ (šarama)
- Belarusian: раско́лваць impf (raskólvacʹ), расшчапля́ць impf (rasščapljácʹ), расшчапля́ць impf (rasščapljácʹ), кало́ць impf (kalócʹ)
- Bulgarian: цепя (bg) (cepja), разцепвам (bg) (razcepvam)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 劈開 / 劈开 (zh) (pīkāi)
- Czech: proříznout pf, rozetnout pf, rozříznout pf
- Danish: kløve
- Dutch: klieven (nl)
- Egyptian: (znzn)
- Finnish: halkaista (fi), halkoa (fi) (continuous)
- French: cliver (fr), fendre (fr)
- Galician: partir (gl), tallar (gl), tronzar, fender (gl)
- Georgian: გაპობა (gaṗoba), გაჭრა (gač̣ra), გაკვეთა (gaḳveta)
- German: spalten (de)
- Greek:
- Ancient: σχίζω (skhízō)
- Hungarian: hasít (hu)
- Icelandic: kljúfa (is), láta klofna
- Italian: fendere (it)
- Japanese: 割る (ja) (わる, waru)
- Korean: 쪼개다 (ko) (jjogaeda)
- Maori: mākahi, matakahi, tīwara, kari
- Norwegian: kløyve (no)
- Occitan: fendre (oc), fendasclar (oc), asclar (oc), trencar (oc)
- Old English: clēofan
- Ottoman Turkish: یارمق (yarmak)
- Persian: شقه کردن (fa) (šaqqe kardan)
- Portuguese: partir (pt), talhar (pt)
- Romanian: despica (ro)
- Russian: раска́лывать (ru) impf (raskályvatʹ), расколо́ть (ru) pf (raskolótʹ), разреза́ть (ru) impf (razrezátʹ), разре́зать (ru) pf (razrézatʹ) (impf and pf forms differ in word stress), рассека́ть (ru) impf (rassekátʹ), рассе́чь (ru) pf (rasséčʹ), коло́ть (ru) impf (kolótʹ), расщепля́ть (ru) impf (rasščepljátʹ), расщепи́ть (ru) pf (rasščepítʹ)
- Sanskrit: भिनत्ति (sa) (bhinatti), तृन्त्ते (tṛntte)
- Spanish: hender (es)
- Swedish: klyva (sv)
- Turkish: yarmak (tr)
- Ukrainian: розко́лювати impf (rozkóljuvaty), розще́плювати impf (rozščépljuvaty), розщепи́ти pf (rozščepýty), коло́ти impf (kolóty)
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Translations to be checked
Noun
cleave (plural cleaves)
- (technology) Flat, smooth surface produced by cleavage, or any similar surface produced by similar techniques, as in glass.
- A cut (slash) or a cut location, either naturally or artificially.
1876-1879, Picturesque Europe: With Illustrations on Steel and Wood by the Most Eminent Artists, Cassell, Petter, Galpin, page 213:There are very striking scenes on some of the lesser streams at this portion of their course. The deep gorge of the Lyd is famous. In the "cleaves," or cleft rocky valleys of Lustleigh and of the Tavy, many a long summer day may be spent with delight; and the Erme, which descends by Ivy Bridge, is not less worthy of a pilgrimage. As the rivers leave the moorland they are crossed by venerable and picturesque bridges which, like that of Harford in our illustration, sometimes afford an admirable framework for the distant landscape.
1909, John Trevena, Heather, Moffat, Yard and Company, page 447:Early the next morning, when there was a tender pink light upon all the moor, and the gentle wind was filled with the purest odours found upon earth, the smell of firs and peat and dewy heather, and the first sunbeams seemed to be creeping down the side of the cleave to drink of the river, poor ill-used John Petherick was evicted at last from Wheal Dream and went into the immortality which he could not think about.
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Middle English cleven, a conflation of two verbs: Old English clifian (from Proto-West Germanic *klibēn, from Proto-Germanic *klibāną) and Old English clīfan (from Proto-West Germanic *klīban, from Proto-Germanic *klībaną), both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gleybʰ- (“to stick”). Cognate with Dutch kleven, German kleben (“to stick”).
Verb
cleave (third-person singular simple present cleaves, present participle cleaving, simple past and past participle cleaved)
- (intransitive, rare) Followed by to or unto: to adhere, cling, or stick fast to something.
a. 1638 (date written), Quintus Horatius Flaccus , translated by Ben Jonson, Q. Horatius Flaccus: His Art of Poetry. Jonson. With Other Workes of the Author, Never Printed Before.">…], London: J Okes, for John Benson , published 1640, →OCLC, page 2, lines 14–16:Yet not as therefore cruell things ſhould cleave / To gentle; not that vve ſhould Serpents ſee / VVith Doves; or Lambs vvith Tigres coupled be.
1881, Walter Besant, James Rice, “How Will Would Not Be Crossed”, in The Chaplain of the Fleet In Three Volumes">…], volume III, London: Chatto and Windus, , →OCLC, part II (The Queen of the Wells), pages 163–164:He was in such a rage that his tongue clave to the roof of his mouth. He could not even swear. He could only splutter.
2019 December 7, St. Albertus Magnus, On Cleaving to God, Dalcassian Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 5:In fact everyone is obligated, to this loving cleaving to God as necessary for salvation, in the form of observing the commandments and conforming to the divine will,
Synonyms
Translations
to adhere, cling, or stick fast to something
References
- William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E Smith, editors (1911), “cleave”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
- “cleave”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.