cleve

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)

1. (now chiefly dialectal) A room; chamber.
2. (now chiefly dialectal) A cottage.
3. (obsolete) A cliff or hillside.

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Middle English

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old English clēofa, from Proto-Germanic *klebô.

Alternative forms

• kleve

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkleːv(ə)/, /ˈklɛːv(ə)/

Noun

cleve (plural cleves)

1. (rare) An abode or home; where someone resides.
2. (rare) A granary.

Descendants

• English: cleve

References

• “clēve (n.)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-31.

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old English clēofan.

Verb

cleve

1. Alternative form of cleven (“to split”)

Etymology 3

Inherited from Old English clēofian.

Verb

cleve

1. Alternative form of cleven (“to stick”)