cleave
verbEtymology
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”).
Definitions
To split or sever something with, or as if with, a sharp instrument.
- The wings clove the foggy air.
- O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain.
- Hee claue the rockes in the wildernes: and gaue them drinke as out of the great depthes.
To break a single crystal (such as a gemstone or semiconductor wafer) along one of its…
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.
To make or accomplish by or as if by cutting.
- The truck clove a path through the ice.
›+ 8 more definitionsshow fewer
(chemistry) To split (a complex molecule) into simpler molecules.
To split.
- And it came to passe as he had made an ende of speaking all these words, that the ground claue asunder that was vnder them:
Of a crystal, to split along a natural plane of division.
Flat, smooth surface produced by cleavage, or any similar surface produced by similar…
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.
- The valley by which the Taw leaves the Moor forms one of the cleaves that add so greatly to the attractions of the place, and this bears the same name as the parish.
Followed by to or unto
Followed by to or unto: to adhere, cling, or stick fast to something.
- And they lift vp their voyce, and wept againe: and Orpah kissed her mother in law, but Ruth claue vnto her.
- Neuerthelesse, hee cleaued vnto the sinnes of Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat, which made Israel to sinne; he departed not therefrom.
- Yet not as therefore cruell things ſhould cleave / To gentle; not that vve ſhould Serpents ſee / VVith Doves; or Lambs vvith Tigres coupled be.
A surname.
A hamlet in Offwell parish, East Devon district, Devon, England, divided into Upper and…
A hamlet in Offwell parish, East Devon district, Devon, England, divided into Upper and Lower Cleave (OS grid ref ST2000).
The neighborhood
Derived
autocleave, cleavability, cleavable, cleave gag, miscleave, photocleave, recleave, tocleave, uncleave, cleaver
Vish — recursive loop
A definitional loop anchored at cleave. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.
A definitional loop anchored at cleave. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.
10 hops · closes at cleave
curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA