cleave

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kliːv/^[1]

Etymology

Two different Old English verbs have fallen together in this form.^[2][3] Cleave “to split” comes from Middle English cleven,^[4][3][2][5] from Old English clēofan,^{[4][3][2][5][6]} from Proto-Germanic *kleubaną,^[3][2] related to Old Norse kljúfa (“to split”) and, more distantly, Latin glubo (“to peel”) and Ancient Greek γλύφω (glúphō, “to carve”).^[5][6] Cleave “to cling” comes from Middle English clevien,^[5][3] from Old English clifian, cleofian “to stick fast”,^{[4][3][2][5][6]} related to German kleben “to stick”.^[3][2][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Both verbs are recorded in Old English, clēofan “to split” in 910^[3] and clifian “to adhere” before 899.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Cleave “to split” was a strong verb with the old past forms clove and cloven, still seen in cloven hoof;^[3][2] the past tense clave was used for both verbs and is preserved in the King James Bible.^[2] Etymonline suggests that the confusion between the two, which grew once the splitting verb developed weak forms, is why both have largely given way to split and stick.^[2] The noun cleaver dates from about 1360 and cleavage from 1816.^[3]

Timeline

• before 899 – Old English clifian “to stick fast”.^[3]
• 910 – Old English clēofan “to split”.^[3]
• about 1200 – cloven as a separate past participle.^[3]
• about 1360 – cleaver.^[3]
• 1816 – cleavage.^[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To split or divide with a sharp instrument, or as if with one.
2. To split or separate, especially along a natural line, as wood along the grain or a crystal.
3. To make one's way through; to cut through or penetrate.
4. In chemistry, to split a molecule into simpler parts.
5. To adhere, cling or stick fast, usually with to.
6. To remain faithful, as to a principle.

Word family

• cleavable
• cleavingly
• cleaver

Related words

• cleavage
• cleft
• clay
• glyph

Usage notes

Random House lists halve, rend and rive as synonyms of the splitting verb.^[6]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House