cleave

Definition

To split or sever something with, or as if with, a sharp instrument.

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”).

Example Sentences

• "The wings clove the foggy air."
• "O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain."
• "Hee claue the rockes in the wildernes: and gaue them drinke as out of the great depthes."