“cleaveth” is a form of
cleave
/ˈkliːv/ verb, noun, proper noun
Forms cleaves cleaving cleft clove cleaved clave cloven
- verb (transitive) To split or sever something with, or as if with, a sharp instrument. “The wings clove the foggy air.”
- verb (transitive, mineralogy) To break a single crystal (such as a gemstone or semiconductor wafer) along one of its more symmetrical crystallographic planes (often by impact), forming facets on the resulting pieces.
- verb (transitive) To make or accomplish by or as if by cutting. “The truck clove a path through the ice.”
- verb (transitive) (chemistry) To split (a complex molecule) into simpler molecules.
- verb (intransitive) To split.
- verb (intransitive, mineralogy) Of a crystal, to split along a natural plane of division.
- noun (technology) Flat, smooth surface produced by cleavage, or any similar surface produced by similar techniques, as in glass.
- noun A cut (slash) or a cut location, either naturally or artificially.
- verb (intransitive, rare) Followed by to or unto: to adhere, cling, or stick fast to something.
- proper noun A surname.
- proper noun A hamlet in Offwell parish, East Devon district, Devon, England, divided into Upper and Lower Cleave (OS grid ref ST2000).
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English cleven, from the Old English strong verb clēofan (“to split, to separate”), from Proto-West Germanic *kleuban, from Proto-Germanic *kleubaną, from Proto-Indo-European *glewbʰ- (“to cut, to slice”).
Doublet of clive. Cognate with Dutch klieven, dialectal German klieben, Swedish klyva, Norwegian Nynorsk kløyva; also Ancient Greek γλύφω (glúphō, “carve”).
From Middle English cleven, a conflation of two verbs: Old English clifian (from Proto-West Germanic *klibēn, from Proto-Germanic *klibāną) and Old English clīfan (from Proto-West Germanic *klīban, from Proto-Germanic *klībaną), both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gleybʰ- (“to stick”). Cognate with Dutch kleven, German kleben (“to stick”).
Webster’s 1913
- verb To adhere closely; to stick; to hold fast; to cling.
- verb To unite or be united closely in interest or affection; to adhere with strong attachment.
- verb To part or divide by force; to split or rive; to cut. O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain. Shak.
- verb To pert or open naturally; to divide.
Etymology [OE. cleovien, clivien, cliven, AS. cleofian, clifian; akin to OS. klibon, G. kleben, LG. kliven, D. kleven, Dan. klæbe, Sw. klibba, and also to G. kleiben to cleve, paste, Icel. klifa to climb. Cf. Climb.]
Etymology [OE. cleoven, cleven, AS. cleófan; akin to OS. klioban, D. klooven, G. klieben, Icel. kljufa, Sw. klyfva, Dan. klöve and prob. to Gr. glubere to peel. Cf. Cleft.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “cleave”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details