Nearby Words
noun
1.
a space or opening made by cleavage; a split.
2.
a division formed by cleaving.
3.
a hollow area or indentation: a chin with a cleft.
4.
Veterinary Pathology. a crack on the bend of the pastern of a horse.
Origin:
1300–50; Middle English clift, Old English (ge)clyft split, cracked; cognate with Old High German, Old Norse kluft; akin to cleave2
1300–50; Middle English clift, Old English (ge)clyft split, cracked; cognate with Old High German, Old Norse kluft; akin to cleave2
Synonyms
1. fissure, crevice, crack, rift, cranny, chasm, crevasse.
1. fissure, crevice, crack, rift, cranny, chasm, crevasse.
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Cleft
is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Example Sentences
- The cleft palate is a common and serious birth defect, but you don't hear much about it.
- His cleft chin and blue eyes gave him the looks of a movie-star, though one who had commanded troops and led uprisings.
- Such images are useful at identifying cleft lip, spina bifida, and some genetic syndromes.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
verb (used without object), cleaved or (Archaic) clave; cleaved; cleav·ing.
1.
to adhere closely; stick; cling (usually followed by to).
2.
to remain faithful (usually followed by to): to cleave to one's principles in spite of persecution.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English cleven, Old English cleofian, cognate with Old High German klebēn (German kleben)
before 900; Middle English cleven, Old English cleofian, cognate with Old High German klebēn (German kleben)
Related forms
cleav·ing·ly, adverb
verb (used with object)
1.
to split or divide by or as if by a cutting blow, especially 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, especially along a natural line of division.
6.
to penetrate or advance by or as if by cutting (usually followed by through).
Origin:
before 950; Middle English cleven, Old English clēofan, cognate with Old High German klioban (German klieben), Old Norse kljūfa; akin to Greek glýphein to carve, Latin glūbere to peel
before 950; Middle English cleven, Old English clēofan, cognate with Old High German klioban (German klieben), Old Norse kljūfa; akin to Greek glýphein to carve, Latin glūbere to peel
Synonyms
1. halve, rend, rive.
1. halve, rend, rive.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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|
Link To cleft
Collins
World English Dictionary
| cleft (klɛft) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | the past tense and a past participle of cleave |
| —n | |
| 2. | a fissure or crevice |
| 3. | an indentation or split in something, such as the chin, palate, etc |
| —adj | |
| 4. | split; divided |
| 5. | (of leaves) having one or more incisions reaching nearly to the midrib |
| [Old English geclyft (n); related to Old High German kluft tongs, German Kluft gap, fissure; see | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
cleave
"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.
EXPANDcleft
O.E. geclyft (adj.) "split, cloven," spelling infl. by cleft, new weak pp. of cleave (1), from P.Gmc. *kluftis.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
cleft (klěft)
n.
A split or fissure between two parts.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
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