cleave English · revision 1191

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kliːv/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Two different Old English verbs have fallen together in this form.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) ''Cleave'' “to split” comes from Middle English ''cleven'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from Old English ''clēofan'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|gem-pro|*kleubaną]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) related to [[non|kljúfa|t=to split]] and, more distantly, [[la|glubo|t=to peel]] and [[grc|γλύφω|tr=glúphō|t=to carve]].^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) ''Cleave'' “to cling” comes from Middle English ''clevien'',^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995) from Old English ''clifian'', ''cleofian'' “to stick fast”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) related to German ''kleben'' “to stick”.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Both verbs are recorded in Old English, ''clēofan'' “to split” in 910^(Barnhart 1995) and ''clifian'' “to adhere” before 899.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Cleave'' “to split” was a strong verb with the old past forms ''clove'' and ''cloven'', still seen in ''cloven hoof'';^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) the past tense ''clave'' was used for both verbs and is preserved in the King James Bible.^(Etymonline) 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''.^(Etymonline) The noun ''cleaver'' dates from about 1360 and ''cleavage'' from 1816.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 899 – Old English ''clifian'' “to stick fast”.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 910 – Old English ''clēofan'' “to split”.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * about 1200 – ''cloven'' as a separate past participle.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * about 1360 – ''cleaver''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1816 – ''cleavage''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To split or divide with a sharp instrument, or as if with one.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To split or separate, especially along a natural line, as wood along the grain or a [[crystal]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To make one's way through; to cut through or [[penetrate]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # In chemistry, to split a [[molecule]] into simpler parts.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To [[adhere]], cling or stick fast, usually with ''to''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To remain faithful, as to a principle.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==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.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}