cleft
oxford
views updated May 18 2018cleft1 / kleft/ • past and past participle of cleave1 .•
adj. split, divided, or partially divided into two: a cleft chin.cleft2 •
n. a fissure or split, esp. one in rock or the ground. ∎ a vertical indentation in the middle of a person's forehead or chin. ∎ a deep division between two parts of the body.
The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English
cleft
oxford
views updated May 14 2018cleft fissure, split. XIII. Earliest form
clift (cf. OE.
-clyft, OHG.
kluft; f. base of
CLEAVE1); the present form, due to assim. to
cleft, pp. of
CLEAVE 1, dates from XVI.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD
Cleft
gale
views updated May 21 2018Cleft
a group of stars [modern].
Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms
