In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.
CLEFT
cleft, dissected
(adjective) having one or more indentations reaching nearly to the midrib
cleft
(adjective) split or divided; “he had a cleft chin and strong jaw”; “the infant was born with a double harelip and cleft palate”; “a cleft stick”
crack, cleft, crevice, fissure, scissure
(noun) a long narrow opening
cleft
(noun) a split or indentation in something (as the palate or chin)
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
Noun
cleft (plural clefts)
An opening, fissure, or V-shaped indentation made by or as if by splitting.
A piece made by splitting.
A disease of horses; a crack on the band of the pastern.
Verb
cleft (third-person singular simple present clefts, present participle clefting, simple past and past participle clefted)
(linguistics) To syntactically separate a prominent constituent from the rest of the clause that concerns it, such as threat in "The threat which I saw but which he didn't see, was his downfall."
Etymology 2
Verb
cleft
simple past tense and past participle of cleave
Adjective
cleft (not comparable)
split, divided, or partially divided into two.
Synonym: cloven
Source: Wiktionary
Cleft, imp. & p. p.
Definition: from Cleave.
Cleft, a.
1. Divided; split; partly divided or split.
2. (Bot.)
Definition: Incised nearly to the midrob; as, a cleft leaf.
Cleft, n. Etym: [OE. clift; cf. Sw. klyft cave, den, Icel. kluft cleft, Dan. klöft, G. kluft. See Cleave to split and cf. 2d Clift, 1st Clough.]
1. A space or opening made by splitting; a crack; a crevice; as, the cleft of a rock. Is. ii. 21.
2. A piece made by splitting; as, a cleft of wood.
3. (Far.)
Definition: A disease in horses; a crack on the band of the pastern. Branchial clefts. See under Branchial.
Syn.
– Crack; crevice; fissure; chink; cranny.
CLEAVE
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
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Word of the Day
22 January 2025
MEGALITH
(noun) memorial consisting of a very large stone forming part of a prehistoric structure (especially in western Europe)
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