cleave

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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 and cloven hoof, and cleft in cleft palate and in a cleft stick. It is chiefly in these fixed expressions that the word is generally known. The other word means 'to stick, adhere', and inflects more regularly (past) cleaved, (past participle) cleaved. It occurs chiefly in the Authorized Version of the Bible (where a past form clave is also found):

The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth—Job 29:10.

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verb

To separate into parts with or as if with a sharp-edged instrument: carve, cut, dissever, sever, slice, slit, split. See assemble/disassemble.

cleave²

verb

To hold fast: adhere, bond, cling, cohere, stick. See connect.

v

Definition: divide, split
Antonyms: join, meld, unite

The occurrence of a gemstone breaking into two or more pieces during the cutting or polishing process. Naturally occurring impurities in the stones increase the likelihood that a stone will break apart.

Investopedia Says:
Gemstones - especially large ones - are very rare. When large gemstones are found, they are usually sold to investors who pay to have the stones cut and polished. A large gemstone that is successfully cut and polished is many times more valuable than an unpolished stone of similar size. However, gemstone investments include the substantial risk that a stone will cleave during the cutting or polishing process, causing a substantial decrease in its value.

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IN BRIEF: To split with a sharp blow. Also: To cling closely.

The ax will cleave the log in two.

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to split or cause to divide, especially along the line of a natural weakness; to split a chemical bond; to effect or undergo cleavage.
—cleavable adj.

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See words rhyming with "cleave."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Cleave.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
1.
v. tr. - kløve, splitte, spalte, bane sig vej igennem
v. intr. - kløves, splittes, spaltes

idioms:

• cleave through    bane sig vej igennem
• clove hitch    dobbelt halvstik
• cloven foot    spaltet klov, kløftet fod, hestehov
• cloven hoof    kløftet hov

2.
v. intr. - klæbe til

idioms:

• cleave to    holde sig til

Nederlands (Dutch)
splijten, klieven, doorklieven

Français (French)
1.
v. tr. - fendre (littér), (Géol) cliver (pierre)
v. intr. - se fendre, se feuilleter, se cliver

idioms:

• cleave through    fendre
• clove hitch    demi-clé
• cloven foot    pied fourchu
• cloven hoof    sabot fendu

2.
v. intr. - être foncièrement attaché à, adhérer à

idioms:

• cleave to    être foncièrement attaché à, adhérer à

Deutsch (German)
1.
v. - sich spalten, spalten, durchschneiden

idioms:

• cleave through    Öffnen, bahnen
• clove hitch    Schifferknoten
• cloven foot    Spaltfuß
• cloven hoof    Spalthuf

2.
v. - kleben, (fig) jd. einer Sache treu bleiben

idioms:

• cleave to    treu bleiben

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - σχίζω, πελεκώ, διασπώ, προσκολλώ/-ώμαι

idioms:

• cleave through    ανοίγω δρόμο
• cleave to    μένω πιστός σε

Italiano (Italian)
fendersi, fendere, solcare

idioms:

• cleave to    essere attaccato, essere devoto, restare fedele

Português (Portuguese)
v. - fender, abrir caminho, apegar-se

idioms:

• cleave to    manter-se fiel

Русский (Russian)
расколоться, расколоть

idioms:

• cleave to    примыкать к

Español (Spanish)
1.
v. tr. - separar, partir, surcar, hender
v. intr. - henderse, partirse, separarse

idioms:

• cleave through    abrir paso
• clove hitch    tipo de nudo
• cloven foot    pezuña hendida
• cloven hoof    pezuña hendida

2.
v. intr. - pegarse, adherirse, agarrarse, apegarse, ser fiel

idioms:

• cleave to    adherirse a, no separarse de, serle fiel a

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - klyva, bilda en klyfta mellan, ta sig fram genom, klyva sig

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 砍开, 劈开, 钻进, 穿过, 使分裂, 使分开, 被劈开, 披荆斩棘地前进, 破浪前进, 裂开

idioms:

• cleave through    开出一条路, 挤出来
• clove hitch    丁香结, 卷结, 酒瓶结
• cloven foot    分趾蹄, 偶蹄, 魔鬼标志
• cloven hoof    分趾蹄, 偶蹄, 恶魔的标志

2. 粘着, 粘住, 固守, 忠于

idioms:

• cleave to    粘着, 坚持

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
v. tr. - 砍開, 劈開, 鑽進, 穿過, 使分裂, 使分開
v. intr. - 被劈開, 披荊斬棘地前進, 破浪前進, 裂開

idioms:

• cleave through    開出一條路, 擠出來
• clove hitch    丁香結, 卷結, 酒瓶結
• cloven foot    分趾蹄, 偶蹄, 魔鬼標誌
• cloven hoof    分趾蹄, 偶蹄, 惡魔的標誌

2.
v. intr. - 粘著, 粘住, 固守, 忠於

idioms:

• cleave to    粘著, 堅持

한국어 (Korean)
1.
v. tr. - 쪼개다, 해치며 나아가다, 격리시키다
v. intr. - 쪼개지다, 분열하다

idioms:

• cleave through    헤치며 나아가다

2.
v. intr. - 달라붙다, 집착하다

idioms:

• cleave to    고수하다, 충실히 대하다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 付着する, 固守する, 裂く, 割れ目をつくる, 空を切る, 切り開く, 裂ける, 切って進む

idioms:

• cleave to    …について離れない, 忠実である
• cloven hoof/foot    分趾蹄

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) شق, فطر, فلق, فلع‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮ביקע‬
v. intr. - ‮התפצל, התבקע‬
v. intr. - ‮דבק ב- (מיושן)‬

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