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cleve. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
cleve, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
cleve in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
cleve you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
From Middle English cleve, from Old English clēofa, clēafa (“that which is cloven, a cleft, chasm, cave, den, lair, cell, chamber, cellar, apartment”), from Proto-Germanic *klebô (“chamber, cell”), from Proto-Indo-European *glewbʰ- (“to cut, cleave, split, divide”). Cognate with Old Norse klefi (“a closet, sleeping closet, bedroom”) (whence Icelandic klefi (“cell, compartment”)). Related to cleave.
Noun
cleve (plural cleves)
- (now chiefly dialectal) A room; chamber.
- (now chiefly dialectal) A cottage.
- (obsolete) A cliff or hillside.
Middle Dutch
Etymology
Related to clef (“cliff”); the town is one of the highest points in the region.
Pronunciation
Noun
clēve ?
- Cleves (a city in modern Germany)
- Cleves (a duchy and county)
- 1432 CE, Brabantsche Yeesten book VI:
na dat si weduwe bleven was van den greve van cleve haren man- After she was left widow of the count of Cleves, her husband
Descendants
Further reading
- “cleve”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
Middle English
Etymology 1
Inherited from Old English clēofa, from Proto-Germanic *klebô.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkleːv(ə)/, /ˈklɛːv(ə)/
Noun
cleve (plural cleves)
- (rare) An abode or home; where someone resides.
- (rare) A granary.
Descendants
References
Etymology 2
Verb
cleve
- Alternative form of cleven (“to split”)
Etymology 3
Verb
cleve
- Alternative form of cleven (“to stick”)