Both Uses of
cleave
in
The Iliad by Homer - (translated by: Butler)
- Her swift arrows were shed upon the ground, and she fled weeping from under Juno's hand as a dove that flies before a falcon to the cleft of some hollow rock, when it is her good fortune to escape.†
Book 21 *cleft = a split or crack in something"Editor's Notes"Cleft is the past tense of cleave like left is past tense of leave.
Today, cleft is most seen in the form cleft palate or cleft lip to refer to medical conditions at birth.
- You are hard as the axe which a shipwright wields at his work, and cleaves the timber to his liking.†
Book 3
Definitions:
-
(1)
(cleave as in: cleave through) to split or cut through somethingIronically, this word can mean to split in two or to hold together.
Note that you may see cleaved, cleft, clove, or cloven as the past tense of this sense of cleave. -
(2)
(cleave as in: cleave to) to hold firmly to something -- such as an object, a person or ideaIronically, this word can mean to split in two or to hold together.
Note that you may see cleaved, clove, or clave as the past tense of this sense of cleave. -
(3)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
a proper noun or other word too rare to warrant focus