cleave in two
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cleave — [kli:v] v past tense cleaved , clove [kləuv US klouv] , or cleft [kleft] past participle cleaved , past tense cloven [ˈkləuvən US ˈklou ] or cleft [: Old English; Origin: cleofan. cleave to Old English clifian] … Dictionary of contemporary English
Cleave — (kl[=e]v), v. t. [imp. {Cleft} (kl[e^]ft), {Clave} (kl[=a]v, Obs.), {Clove} (kl[=o]v, Obsolescent); p. p. {Cleft}, {Cleaved} (kl[=e]vd) or {Cloven} (kl[=o] v n); p. pr. & vb. n. {Cleaving}.] [OE. cleoven, cleven, AS. cle[ o]fan; akin to OS.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
cleave — [ kliv ] verb transitive LITERARY to cut or break something into two parts with a lot of force cleave ,to phrasal verb transitive 1. ) to stay very close to someone, or to stay close together a ) to stick firmly to something 2. ) to keep… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
cleave — There are two words, both from Old English, with this spelling. One is a mostly literary word for ‘cut’, and has inflected forms (past) cleaved, clove, or cleft, and (past participle) cleaved or cloven. The adjective is cloven in cloven footed… … Modern English usage
cleave — [OE] There are two distinct verbs cleave in English, both of Germanic origin. Cleave ‘cut’ comes from Germanic *kleuban, which goes back to an Indo European base *gleubh (this also produced Greek glúphein ‘carve’, source of English hieroglyphics) … The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins
cleave — [OE] There are two distinct verbs cleave in English, both of Germanic origin. Cleave ‘cut’ comes from Germanic *kleuban, which goes back to an Indo European base *gleubh (this also produced Greek glúphein ‘carve’, source of English hieroglyphics) … Word origins
cleave — verb (T) formal past tense cleaved, clove, cleft past participle cleaved, cloven cleft 1 (intransitive always + adv/prep, transitive always + adv/prep) to cut something into separate parts using a heavy tool or to be able to be cut in this way:… … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
cleave — UK [kliːv] / US [klɪv] verb [transitive] Word forms cleave : present tense I/you/we/they cleave he/she/it cleaves present participle cleaving past tense cleaved or clove UK [kləʊv] / US [kloʊv] or cleft UK [kleft] / US past participle cleaved or… … English dictionary
cleave — Synonyms and related words: accelerate, activate, adhere, adhere to, agglomerate, amputate, associate, atomize, ax, bifurcate, bisect, bite, bombard, branch, breach, break, break to pieces, broach, bunch, butcher, by two, carve, check, chink,… … Moby Thesaurus
cleave — [[t]kli͟ːv[/t]] cleaves, cleaving (The past tense can be either cleaved or clove; the past participle can be cleaved, cloven, or cleft for meaning 1, and is cleaved for meaning 2.) 1) VERB To cleave something means to split or divide it into two… … English dictionary
