English Explanatory Dictionary

cleft

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. An opening, fissure, or V-shaped indentation made by or as if by splitting.
  2. A piece made by splitting.
  3. A disease of horses; a crack on the band of the pastern.
verb
  1. 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."
verb
  1. simple past and past participle of cleave
adj
  1. split, divided, or partially divided into two.

Pronunciation

/klɛft/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-cleft.wav

Word forms

cleft clefts clefting clefted

Etymology

From Middle English clift, from Old English ġeclyft, from Proto-West Germanic *klufti, from Proto-Germanic *kluftiz, equivalent to cleave + -t (“-th”). Compare Dutch klucht (“coarse comedy”), Swedish klyft (“cave, den”), German Kluft. See cleave.

Synonyms

cloven

Related words

cleavage cleave cleaver cloven dimple clefting cleft sentence

Derived words

anal cleft chin cleft cleft chin cleft foot cleftgraft cleft grafting cleft habitus cleft lip cleft of Venus cleft palate cleft sentence cleft stick gluteal cleft intergluteal cleft mental cleft natal cleft noncleft pseudocleft pudendal cleft Rathke's cleft synaptic cleft uncleft watercleft in a cleft stick
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