cleft en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /ˈklɛft/
- [ˈkʰl̥ɛft]
- (Southern-England) audio
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.
Meanings
-
An opening, fissure, or V-shaped indentation made by or as if by splitting.
First of all they released the arms from the bodies, then making four clefts at the end of each arm they fashioned hands and fingers.
1918, James George Frazer, Folk-Lore In The Old Testament, volume 1, page 42:The river flows through a cleft in the mountains.
Then came some palsied oak, a cleft in him / Like a distorted mouth that splits its rim / Gaping at death, and dies while it recoils.
1855, Robert Browning, Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came, section XXVI:
-
A piece made by splitting.
a cleft of wood
- A disease of horses; a crack on the band of the pastern.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| clefts | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
cleft lip · natal cleft · pudendal cleft · cleft sentence · Rathke's cleft · noncleft · anal cleft · cleft of Venus · cleft palate · cleft foot · pseudocleft · mental cleft · cleft grafting · synaptic cleft · cleft stick · intergluteal cleft · uncleft · gluteal cleft · cleft chin · cleft habitus · watercleft · chin cleft · cleftgraft
Relateds
cleavage · cloven · dimple · cleave · cleaver
Translations (64)
sv spricka (opening made or as if made by splitting) · hu hasadék (opening made or as if made by splitting) · ota فتق (opening made or as if made by splitting) · pl szczelina (opening made or as if made by splitting) · hi फटाव (opening made or as if made by splitting) · cs puklina (opening made or as if made by splitting) · sv klyfta (opening made or as if made by splitting) · pt rachadura (opening made or as if made by splitting) · hi फटन (opening made or as if made by splitting) · pt partido (opening made or as if made by splitting) · no revne (opening made or as if made by splitting) · fa تراک (opening made or as if made by splitting) · mk цепна́тина (opening made or as if made by splitting) · tr yarık (opening made or as if made by splitting) · no spalte (opening made or as if made by splitting) · ko 골 (opening made or as if made by splitting) · hi विदर (opening made or as if made by splitting) · da spalte (opening made or as if made by splitting) · pt fissura (opening made or as if made by splitting) · ru тре́щина (opening made or as if made by splitting) · ar صَدْع (opening made or as if made by splitting) · ja 割れ目 (opening made or as if made by splitting) · fr fissure (opening made or as if made by splitting) · oc ascladura (opening made or as if made by splitting) · mk це́пка (opening made or as if made by splitting) · sh пукотина (opening made or as if made by splitting) · ar شَقّ (opening made or as if made by splitting) · cs prasklina (opening made or as if made by splitting) · kk сызат (opening made or as if made by splitting) · hi दरार (opening made or as if made by splitting) · zza qeliş (opening made or as if made by splitting) · he בקע (opening made or as if made by splitting) · ar شَرْم (opening made or as if made by splitting) · da revne (opening made or as if made by splitting) · kk жарықшақ (opening made or as if made by splitting) · oc fracha (opening made or as if made by splitting) · ko 샅 (opening made or as if made by splitting) · kk жарық (opening made or as if made by splitting) · nl kloof (opening made or as if made by splitting) · cs štěrbina (opening made or as if made by splitting) · bg цепка (opening made or as if made by splitting) · oc fendilha (opening made or as if made by splitting) · cmn 裂縫 /裂缝 (opening made or as if made by splitting) · hi विभ्रंश (opening made or as if made by splitting) · grc ῥωχμός (opening made or as if made by splitting) · nl spleet (opening made or as if made by splitting) · he שסע (opening made or as if made by splitting) · ru рассе́лина (opening made or as if made by splitting) · bg цепнатина (opening made or as if made by splitting) · mi hakono (opening made or as if made by splitting) · de Riß (opening made or as if made by splitting) · gl fenda (opening made or as if made by splitting) · cs rozštěp (opening made or as if made by splitting) · ru расще́лина (opening made or as if made by splitting) · oc fendascla (opening made or as if made by splitting) · fi lovi (opening made or as if made by splitting) · ota چاك (opening made or as if made by splitting) · es hendidura (opening made or as if made by splitting) · sv rämna (opening made or as if made by splitting) · it fessura (opening made or as if made by splitting) · de Spalte (opening made or as if made by splitting) · cs trhlina (opening made or as if made by splitting) · ja 裂け目 (opening made or as if made by splitting) · sh pukotina (opening made or as if made by splitting)