cleft - Definitions from Dictionary.com

12 results for: cleft

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

cleft1

–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; ME clift, OE (ge)clyft split, cracked; c. OHG, ON kluft; akin to cleave²

]

—Synonyms 1. fissure, crevice, crack, rift, cranny, chasm, crevasse.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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cleft

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

cleft2

Audio Help [kleft] Pronunciation Key

–verb

1.	a pt. and pp. of cleave².

–adjective

2.	cloven; split; divided.

3.	(of a leaf, corolla, lobe, or other expanded plant part) having divisions formed by incisions or narrow sinuses that extend more than halfway to the midrib or the base.

[Origin: see cleft¹

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

cleave2

Audio Help [kleev] Pronunciation Key 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 cléofan, 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 (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

cleave¹ Audio Help   (klēv) Pronunciation Key
v.   cleft (klěft) or cleaved or clove (klōv), cleft or cleaved or clo·ven (klō'vən), cleav·ing, cleaves

v.   tr.

To split with or as if with a sharp instrument. See Synonyms at tear¹.
To make or accomplish by or as if by cutting: cleave a path through the ice.
To pierce or penetrate: The wings cleaved the foggy air.
Chemistry To split (a complex molecule) into simpler molecules.

v. intr.

Mineralogy To split or separate, especially along a natural line of division.
To penetrate or pass through something, such as water or air.

[Middle English cleven, from Old English clēofan; see gleubh- in Indo-European roots.]

cleav'a·ble adj.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

cleft Audio Help   (klěft) Pronunciation Key
v.   A past tense and a past participle of cleave¹.

adj.

Divided; split.
Botany Having indentations that extend about halfway to the center, as in certain leaves.

A crack, crevice, or split.
A split or indentation between two parts, as of the chin.

[Middle English, past participle of cleven, to split; see cleave¹. N., from Middle English, alteration (influenced by cleft) of clift, from Old English geclyft; see gleubh- in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
cleft

O.E. geclyft (adj.) "split, cloven," spelling infl. by cleft, new weak pp. of cleave (1), from P.Gmc. *kluftis.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

cleft
adjective
1.	having one or more incisions reaching nearly to the midrib
noun
1.	a split or indentation in something (as the palate or chin)
2.	a long narrow opening [syn: crack]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
cleft [kleft] noun

an opening made by splitting
Example: a cleft in the rocks

Arabic:	شِق،شِق، صَدْع
Chinese (Simplified):	裂缝
Chinese (Traditional):	裂縫
Czech:	trhlina, rozsedlina
Danish:	kløft; spalte
Dutch:	spleet
Estonian:	lõhe
Finnish:	halkeama
French:	fissure
German:	die Spalte
Greek:	σχισμή
Hungarian:	szakadék
Icelandic:	sprunga
Indonesian:	celah
Italian:	fenditura

Japanese:	裂け目
Korean:	갈라진 틈
Latvian:	plaisa
Lithuanian:	plyšys
Norwegian:	kløft, spalte
Polish:	szczelina
Portuguese (Brazil):	fissura
Portuguese (Portugal):	fissura
Romanian:	fisură
Russian:	расщелина
Slovak:	trhlina
Slovenian:	razpoka
Spanish:	hendidura, grieta
Swedish:	klyfta, spricka
Turkish:	çatlak, yarık

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Cleft

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.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Cleft