cleave

English

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kliːv/
• Rhymes: -iːv

Etymology 1

From the strong Old English verb clēofan, from Proto-Germanic *kleubanan, from Proto-Indo-European root *gleubh- (“to cut, to slice”). Cognates include dialectal German klieben and Dutch klieven.

Verb

cleave (third-person singular simple present cleaves, present participle cleaving, simple past cleft, clove, or in UK: cleaved, or obsolete clave, past participle cleft, cloven, or in UK: cleaved)

1. (transitive) To split or sever something 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.

Translations

transitive to split or sever

Hungarian: hasít (hu) Icelandic: kljúfa (is), láta klofna (is)

Swedish: klyva (sv)

transitive mineralogy

transitive figurative

transitive chemistry

Swedish: klyva (sv)

intransitive to split

intransitive mineralogy

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Vietnamese: rẽ (vi)

Noun

cleave (plural cleaves)

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

Related terms

• cleavage
• cleft

Etymology 2

From Old English cleofian, from West Germanic *klibajanan, from Proto-Indo-European root *gloi- (“to stick”). Cognates include German kleben (ankleben, bekleben), Dutch kleven.

Verb

cleave (third-person singular simple present cleaves, present participle cleaving, simple past and past participle cleaved)

1. (intransitive) To cling, adhere or stick fast to something; used with to or unto.
2. (intransitive) To be faithful.
   • 1611, King James Version of the Bible (Authorized Version)^[1], Genesis, 2:24

     Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

References

• cleave in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• cleave in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913