All 3 Uses
cleave
in
Self-Reliance, by Emerson
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- Christ is born, and millions of minds so grow and cleave to his genius, that he is confounded with virtue and the possible of man.
*cleave = hold firmly
- If you are true, but not in the same truth with me, cleave to your companions; I will seek my own.
- Not possible will the soul all rich, all eloquent, with thousand-cloven tongue, deign to repeat itself; but if you can hear what these patriarchs say, surely you can reply to them in the same pitch of voice; for the ear and the tongue are two organs of one nature.†
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Definitions:
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(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) a proper noun or other word too rare to warrant focus