cleave

English
WOTD – 12 February 2015

Pronunciation
  • (UK) IPA(key): /kliːv/
  • (US) IPA(key): /kliv/
  • Audio (AU)(file)
  • Rhymes: -iːv

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)

  1. (transitive) To split or sever something with, or as if with, a sharp instrument.
    The wings cleaved the foggy air.
  2. (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.
  3. (transitive) To make or accomplish by or as if by cutting.
    The truck cleaved a path through the ice.
  4. (transitive, chemistry) To split (a complex molecule) into simpler molecules.
  5. (intransitive) To split.
  6. (intransitive, mineralogy) Of a crystal, to split along a natural plane of division.
English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *glewbʰ-‎ (0 c, 9 e)
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun

cleave (plural cleaves)

  1. (technology) Flat, smooth surface produced by cleavage, or any similar surface produced by similar techniques, as in glass.

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)

  1. (intransitive, rare) Followed by to or unto: to adhere, cling, or stick fast to something.
Synonyms
Translations

References
  • cleave in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
  • cleave in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.