tocleave

T1O1C3L1E1A1V4E1

verb

To divide; split open; cleave asunder.

OriginMiddle English tocleven ← Old English tōclēofan ← Proto-Germanic *tōkliubaną →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

verbtocleave (third-person singular simple present tocleaves, present participle tocleaving, simple past toclove or tocleft or tocleaved, past participle tocloven or tocleft or tocleaved)

present singular third person tocleaves · participle present tocleaving · past toclove · past tocleft · past tocleaved · participle past tocloven · participle past tocleft · participle past tocleaved

  1. dialectalobsoletetransitiveTo divide; split open; cleave asunder.
  2. dialectalintransitiveobsoleteTo split apart; break.

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*tōkliubaną“to split apart”
  2. Old Englishtōclēofan“to split apart, cleave asunder”
  3. Middle Englishtocleven
  4. Englishtocleave

From Middle English tocleven, from Old English tōclēofan (“to split apart, cleave asunder”), from Proto-Germanic *tōkliubaną (“to split apart”), equivalent to to- + cleave (“to split”). Cognate with Old High German zechluiban (“to split apart, cleave asunder”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

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Cite this entry
APA

tocleave. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tocleave

MLA

“tocleave.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tocleave. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tocleave,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tocleave.

Source: tocleave on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.