cloven

English

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -əʊvən
  • Rhymes: -uːvən

Verb

cloven

  1. past participle of cleave

Adjective

cloven

  1. Split, sundered, or divided.
    • 1610-11, William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act II Scene 2
      CALIBAN:
      [...]
      His spirits hear me,
      And yet I needs must curse. But they'll nor pinch
      Fright me with urchin-shows, pitch me i'th' mire,
      Nor lead me like a firebrand in the dark
      Out of my way, unless he bid 'em; but
      For every trifle are they set upon me,
      Sometimes like apes that now and chatter at me,
      And after bite me; then like hedgehogs, which
      Lie tumbling in my barefoot way, and mount
      Their pricks at my footfall; sometimes am I
      All wound with adders, who with their cloven tongues
      Do hiss me into madness—
      [...]

Derived terms

Translations


Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old English clofen, ġeclofen, past participle of clēofan, from Proto-Germanic *klubanaz, past participle of *kleubaną.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈklɔːvən/, /ˈklɔːvə/, /iˈklɔːvə/, /əˈklɔːvə/

Verb

cloven

  1. past participle of cleven (to split)

Descendants

References

Adjective

cloven

  1. Split, cloven, seperated, divided (used of anatomical features)

Descendants

References

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