cliff

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See also: Cliff

English

A cliff is a vertical or near vertical rock face

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /klɪf/, [kl̥ʰɪf]
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪf

Etymology 1

From Middle English clyf, from Old English clif, from Proto-Germanic *klibą.

Noun

cliff (plural cliffs)

  1. A vertical (or nearly vertical) rock face.
    Synonym: precipice
    Hyponym: escarpment
    Coordinate term: bluff
  2. (figurative) A point where something abruptly fails or decreases in value etc.
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

cliff (plural cliffs)

  1. (music) Obsolete form of clef.
    • 1723, John Harris, Lexicon Technicum:
      Suppose a Person hath learnt to sing in the Treble Cliff only, and would sing Notes prick'd in the Tenor Cliff on the middle tine with F# []

Further reading