"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].
"to adhere," O.E. clifian, from W.Gmc. *klibajanan, from PIE *gloi- "to stick." The confusion was less in O.E. when cleave (1) was a class 2 strong verb and cleave (2) a class 1 verb; but it has grown since cleave (1) weakened, which may be why both are largely superseded by stick and split.Cleaver "butcher's chopper" is from 1483.
separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument; "cleave the bone"
2.
make by cutting into; "The water is going to cleave a channel into the rock"
3.
come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation; "The dress clings to her body"; "The label stuck to the box"; "The sushi rice grains cohere" [syn: cling]
Cleave\ (kl[=e]v), v. i. [imp. Cleaved (kl[=e]vd), Clave (kl[=a]v, Obs.); p. p. Cleaved; p. pr. & vb. n. Cleaving.] [OE. cleovien, clivien, cliven, AS. cleofian, clifian; akin to OS. klib[=o]n, G. kleben, LG. kliven, D. kleven, Dan. kl[ae]be, Sw. klibba, and also to G. kleiben to cleve, paste, Icel. kl[=i]fa to climb. Cf. Climb.]1. To adhere closely; to stick; to hold fast; to cling. My bones cleave to my skin. --Ps. cii. 5. The diseases of Egypt . . . shall cleave unto thee. --Deut. xxviii. 60. Sophistry cleaves close to and protects Sin's rotten trunk, concealing its defects. --Cowper. 2. To unite or be united closely in interest or affection; to adhere with strong attachment. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife. --Gen. ii. 24. Cleave unto the Lord your God. --Josh. xxiii. 8. 3. To fit; to be adapted; to assimilate. [Poetic.] New honors come upon him, Like our strange garments, cleave not to their mold But with the aid of use. --Shak.
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. klioban, D. klooven, G. klieben, Icel. klj[=u]fa, Sw. klyfva, Dan. kl["o]ve and prob. to Gr. gly`fein to carve, L. glubere to peel. Cf. Cleft.]1. To part or divide by force; to split or rive; to cut. O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain. --Shak. 2. To part or open naturally; to divide. Every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws. --Deut. xiv. 6.
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