CLEAVE

cling, cleave, adhere, stick, cohere

(verb) come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation; “The dress clings to her body”; “The label stuck to the box”; “The sushi rice grains cohere”

cleave, split, rive

(verb) separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument; “cleave the bone”

cleave

(verb) make by cutting into; “The water is going to cleave a channel into the rock”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology 1

Verb

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

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

(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.

(transitive) To make or accomplish by or as if by cutting.

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

(intransitive) To split.

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

Noun

cleave (plural cleaves)

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

Etymology 2

Verb

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

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

Synonyms

• See also adhere

Source: Wiktionary

Cleave, v. i. [.. Cleaved (, Clave (, (Obs.); p. p. Cleaved; p. pr. & vb. n. Cleaving.] Etym: [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.]

1. To adhere closely; to stick; to hold fast; to cling. My bones cleave to my skin. Ps. cii. 5. The diseases of Egypt . . . shall cleave unto thee. Deut. xxviii. 60. Sophistry cleaves close to and protects Sin's rotten trunk, concealing its defects. Cowper.

2. To unite or be united closely in interest or affection; to adhere with strong attachment. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife. Gen. ii. 24. Cleave unto the Lord your God. Josh. xxiii. 8.

3. To fit; to be adapted; to assimilate. [Poetic.] New honors come upon him, Like our strange garments, cleave not to their mold But with the aid of use. Shak.

Cleave, v. t. [imp. Cleft, Clave (, Clove (, (Obsolescent); p. p. Cleft, Cleaved ( or Cloven (; p. pr. & vb. n. Cleaving.] Etym: [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.]

1. To part or divide by force; to split or rive; to cut. O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain. Shak.

2. To pert or open naturally; to divide. Every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws. Deut. xiv. 6.

Cleave, v. i.

Definition: To part; to open; to crack; to separate; as parts of bodies; as, the ground cleaves by frost. The Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst. Zech. xiv. 4.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition