English Explanatory Dictionary

Clive

English dictionary entry

Meanings

name
  1. A topographic surname from Old English - someone who lived near a cliff (Old English clif).
  2. A male given name transferred from the surname, popular in Britain in the mid-twentieth century.
  3. A village in Lacombe County, Alberta, Canada.
  4. A city in Dallas County and Polk County, Iowa, United States.
  5. An unincorporated community in Tooele County, Utah, United States.
  6. A town on the Clive River in Hawke's Bay region, New Zealand.
  7. An eastern suburb of Winsford, Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire, England (OS grid ref SJ6766).
  8. A village and civil parish in north Shropshire, England (OS grid ref SJ5124).
verb
  1. To climb; ascend.
noun
  1. Burdock or agrimony.
verb
  1. To split; separate; cleave; chop.

Pronunciation

/ˈklaɪv/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Clive.wav

Word forms

Clive clives cliving clived clove cliven

Etymology

From Middle English cliven, from Old English clīfan (“to cleave, adhere, stick”), from Proto-West Germanic *klīban, from Proto-Germanic *klībaną (“to glue, stick”), from Proto-Indo-European *gleybʰ- (“to lubricate, stick”). Cognate with Dutch kleven (“to adhere, stick”), German kleben (“to adhere, stick”), Swedish kliva (“to climb, stalk”), Icelandic klífa (“to climb, ascend”).

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