different between cleave vs cleaved

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /kli?v/
• (US) IPA^(key): /kliv/
• Rhymes: -i?v

Etymology 1

From Middle English cleven, from the Old English strong verb cl?ofan (“to split, to separate”), from Proto-Germanic *kleuban?, from Proto-Indo-European *glewb?- (“to cut, to slice”). Doublet of clive. Cognate with Dutch klieven, dialectal German klieben, Swedish klyva, Norwegian Nynorsk kløyva; also Ancient Greek ????? (glúph?, “carve”).

Verb

cleave (third-person singular simple present cleaves, present participle cleaving, simple past cleft or clove or (UK) cleaved or (archaic) clave, past participle cleft or cloven or (UK) cleaved)

1. (transitive) To split or sever something with, or as if with, a sharp instrument.

   The wings cleaved the foggy air.
2. (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.
3. (transitive) To make or accomplish by or as if by cutting.

   The truck cleaved a path through the ice.

4. (transitive, chemistry) To split (a complex molecule) into simpler molecules.
5. (intransitive) To split.

6. (intransitive, mineralogy) Of a crystal, to split along a natural plane of division.

Related terms

Translations

Noun

cleave (plural cleaves)

1. (technology) Flat, smooth surface produced by cleavage, or any similar surface produced by similar techniques, as in glass.

Related terms

• cleavage
• cleft

Derived terms

• cleaver

Etymology 2

From Middle English cleven, a conflation of two verbs: Old English clifian (from Proto-Germanic *klib?n?) and Old English cl?fan (from Proto-Germanic *kl?ban?), both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gleyb?- (“to stick”).

Verb

cleave (third-person singular simple present cleaves, present participle cleaving, simple past and past participle cleaved)

1. (intransitive) To cling, adhere or stick fast to something; used with to or unto.

Translations

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:adhere

References

• cleave in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• cleave in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kli?vd/

Adjective

cleaved (comparative more cleaved, superlative most cleaved)

1. Cleft or cloven.

Related terms

• cleave