cleave

cleave · verb, noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*glewbʰ-“to cut, to slice”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*kleubaną
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*kleuban
4. Middle English · inherited fromcleven
5. English todaycleave

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”).

cleave · verb²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*gleybʰ-“to stick”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*klībaną
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*klīban
4. Old English · inherited fromclīfan
5. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*klibāną
6. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*klibēn
7. Old English · inherited fromclifian
8. Middle English · inherited fromcleven
9. English todaycleave

From Middle English cleven, a conflation of two verbs: Old English clifian (from Proto-West Germanic *klibēn, from Proto-Germanic *klibāną) and Old English clīfan (from Proto-West Germanic *klīban, from Proto-Germanic *klībaną), both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gleybʰ- (“to stick”). Cognate with Dutch kleven, German kleben (“to stick”).

Words from the same roots