different between nick vs cleave

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /n?k/
• Homophone: Nick
• Rhymes: -?k

Etymology 1

The noun is derived from Late Middle English nik (“notch, tally; nock of an arrow”). Its further etymology is unknown; a connection with nock (“notch in a bow to hold the bowstring; notch at the rear of an arrow that fits the bowstring; cleft in the buttocks”) has not been clearly established.

The verb appears to be derived from the noun, though the available evidence shows that some of the verb senses predate the noun senses. No connection with words in Germanic languages such as Danish nikke (“to nod”), Middle Dutch nicken (“to bend; to bow”) (modern Dutch knikken (“to nod”)), Middle Low German nicken (“to bend over; to sink”), Middle High German nicken (“to bend; to depress”) (modern German nicken (“to nod”)), Middle Low German knicken (“to bend; to snap”) (modern German knicken (“to bend; to break”), Old Frisian hnekka (“to nod”), and Swedish nicka (“to nod”), has been clearly established.

Noun

nick (plural nicks)

1. A small cut in a surface.
   1. (now rare) A particular place or point considered as marked by a nick; the exact point or critical moment.
   2. (printing, dated) A notch cut crosswise in the shank of a type, to assist a compositor in placing it properly in the stick, and in distribution.
2. Senses connoting something small.
   1. (cricket) A small deflection of the ball off the edge of the bat, often going to the wicket-keeper for a catch.
   2. (genetics) One of the single-stranded DNA segments produced during nick translation.
   3. (real tennis, squash (sport), racquetball) The point where the wall of the court meets the floor.
3. (Britain, New Zealand, slang) Often in the expressions in bad nick and in good nick: condition, state.
4. (Britain, law enforcement, slang) A police station or prison.

Derived terms

• in the nick of time

Translations

Verb

nick (third-person singular simple present nicks, present participle nicking, simple past and past participle nicked)

1. (transitive) To make a nick or notch in; to cut or scratch in a minor way.
   1. (transitive) To make ragged or uneven, as by cutting nicks or notches in; to deface, to mar.
   2. (transitive, rare) To make a crosscut or cuts on the underside of (the tail of a horse, in order to make the animal carry it higher).
2. (transitive, obsolete) To fit into or suit, as by a correspondence of nicks; to tally with.
   1. (transitive) To hit at, or in, the nick; to touch rightly; to strike at the precise point or time.
   2. (transitive, cricket) To hit the ball with the edge of the bat and produce a fine deflection.
   3. (transitive, gaming) To throw or turn up (a number when playing dice); to hit upon.
3. (transitive, mining) To make a cut at the side of the face.
4. (transitive, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, slang) To steal.
5. (transitive, Britain, law enforcement, slang) To arrest.

Derived terms

• nicker
• nicking (noun)

Translations

Etymology 2

From nick(name).

Noun

nick (plural nicks)

1. (Internet) Clipping of nickname.

Verb

nick (third-person singular simple present nicks, present participle nicking, simple past and past participle nicked)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To give or call (someone) by a nickname; to style.

Etymology 3

A variant of nix or nixie.

Noun

nick (plural nicks)

1. (archaic) A nix or nixie (“water spirit”).

References

Further reading

• nick (DNA) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• nick (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• CKIN

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /n?k/
• Rhymes: -?k

Verb

nick

1. singular imperative of nicken
2. (colloquial) first-person singular present of nicken

Kashubian

Pronoun

nick

1. nothing

Polish

Etymology

From English nick(name).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ik/

Noun

nick m inan

1. (Internet) nickname (familiar, invented given name)

Declension

Further reading

• nick in Wielki s?ownik j?zyka polskiego, Instytut J?zyka Polskiego PAN
• nick in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Swedish

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

nick c

1. nod (movement of the head to indicate agreement)
2. header (in football)

Declension

Synonyms

• (header):: nickning c
• (nod):: nickning c

Derived terms

• nickedocka
• nicka
• nicka till

Etymology 2

From the English nickname

Noun

nick n

1. (slang) nick, nickname

Declension

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.