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CLAVE

 - 9 dictionary results

clave

1  [kleyv]
Use CLAVE in a Sentence
–verb Archaic.
pt. of cleave.

cla⋅ve

2  [klah-vey]
–noun
one of a pair of wooden sticks or blocks that are held one in each hand and are struck together to accompany music and dancing.
Origin:
1925–30; AmerSp, Sp: keystone < L clāvis key

cleave

1  [kleev]
–verb (used without object), cleaved or (Archaic) clave; cleaved; cleav⋅ing.
1. to adhere closely; stick; cling (usually fol. by to).
2. to remain faithful (usually fol. by to): to cleave to one's principles in spite of persecution.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME cleven, OE cleofian, c. OHG klebēn (G kleben)

Related forms:
cleav⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

cleave

2  [kleev] verb, cleft or cleaved or clove, cleft or cleaved or clo⋅ven, cleav⋅ing.
–verb (used with object)
1. to split or divide by or as if by a cutting blow, esp. along a natural line of division, as the grain of wood.
2. to make by or as if by cutting: to cleave a path through the wilderness.
3. to penetrate or pass through (air, water, etc.): The bow of the boat cleaved the water cleanly.
4. to cut off; sever: to cleave a branch from a tree.
–verb (used without object)
5. to part or split, esp. along a natural line of division.
6. to penetrate or advance by or as if by cutting (usually fol. by through).
Origin:
bef. 950; ME cleven, OE clēofan, c. OHG klioban (G klieben), ON kljūfa; akin to Gk glýphein to carve, L glūbere to peel

Synonyms:
1. halve, rend, rive.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To CLAVE
clave 1   (klāv)   
v.   Archaic
A past tense of cleave1.
clave 2   (klāv)   
v.   Archaic
A past tense of cleave2.
cla·ve 3   (klä'vā)   
n.  

  1. A cylindrical hardwood stick used in a pair as a percussion instrument.

  2. A syncopated two-bar musical pattern.


[American Spanish, from Spanish, keystone, from Latin clāvis, key.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

cleave  (1)
"to split," O.E. cleofan "to split, separate" (class II strong verb, past tense cleaf, past participle clofen), from P.Gmc. *kleubanan, from PIE base *gleubh- "to cut, slice." The old, strong p.t. clave was still alive at the time of the King James Bible; and the p.p. cloven survives, though mostly in compounds. Cleavage in geology is from 1816. The sense of "cleft between a woman's breasts in low-cut clothing" is first recorded 1946, when it was defined in a "Time" magazine article as the "Johnston Office trade term for the shadowed depression dividing an actress' bosom into two distinct sections" [Aug. 5].
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: cleave
Pronunciation: 'klEv
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: cleaved; cleav·ing
: to subject to chemicalcleavage cleaved by an enzyme>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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