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

• cloven foot, cloven-footed
• cloven hoof, cloven-hoofed

Translations

split or divided

• Bulgarian: разцепен (bg) (razcepen), раздвоен (bg) (razdvoen)
• French: fendu (fr)
• Greek:

  Ancient: σχιστός (skhistós), δίκροος (díkroos)

• Latin: bifidus, fissus

• Norwegian: kløyvd
• Russian: раздвоенный (ru) (razdvojennyj)
• Spanish: rajado (es)
• Swedish: kluven (sv)

---

Middle English

Alternative forms

• clove, clofenn, clovyn, clofen, i-clove, y clove

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

• English: cloven
• Scots: clowen, cloen

References

• “clōve(n, ppl.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-31.

Adjective

cloven

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

Descendants

• English: cloven
• Scots: clowen, cloen

References

• “clōve(n, ppl.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-31.