Cleave - plus, Words We're Watching: 'Cryosphere'

[Merriam-Webster]( WORD OF THE DAY September 27, 2019 cleave [Audio pronunciation]( verb | KLEEV Definition 1 : to divide (something) by or as if by a cutting blow : [split]( 2 : to separate (something) into distinct parts and especially into groups having divergent views 3 : to subject to chemical [cleavage]( 4 : to split especially along the grain 5 : to penetrate or pass through something by or as if by cutting Scroll down for more about cleave TRENDING NOW: [quid pro quo]( [impeach]( [dastardly]( [stymie]( [SEE ALL [>]]( PEOPLE ARE READING [Words We're Watching: 'Cryosphere']( [Do the Names of the Seasons Get Capitalized?]( ['Whistle-Blower': A History]( [Looking at ‘Bothsidesing’]( WORD GAMES AND QUIZZES: WEEKLY CHALLENGE [The Exceptions Quiz III]( Which of these things doesn't belong? [PLAY NOW]( Nailed this quiz? We have plenty more to try! [TAKE ME THERE [>]]( Did You Know? Cleave has two homographs, each with a distinct origin. There is [cleave]( meaning "to adhere firmly and closely or loyally and unwaveringly," as in "a family that cleaves to tradition"; that one is from Old English clifian, meaning "to adhere." And there is the cleave with meanings relating to splitting and dividing, which derives from Old English clēofan, meaning "to split." The two have slightly different inflections. The "split" cleave usually has cleaved as its past tense form, but cleft and clove are both in use as well; as its past participle form (the form that often occurs with have), cleaved is most common, but cleft and cloven are also used. The "adhere" cleave commonly has cleaved or clove (and occasionally clave) as its past tense and cleaved as its past participle. Examples of CLEAVE "The surface you're cutting against will have a greater impact on your knife's edge than the food you're chopping up, assuming you aren't regularly cleaving through massive bones." — [Paul Stephen, The San Antonio Express News, 10 July 2019]( "Of course, single-item restaurants are nothing new.... But they don't usually serve something so divisive as [polenta](. You see, the slow-cooked dish of maize cleaves opinion like a Justin Bieber concert. You either love it or loathe it—and ever has it been so." — [Samuel Muston, The Independent (London), 30 Jan. 2014]( Test Your Vocabulary Fill in the blanks to complete a noun that refers to a narrow opening or crack: _ i _ s _ r _. [VIEW THE ANSWER [>]]( MORE WORD FUN: [WORD GAMES [>]]( [TRENDING NOW [>]]( [WORDS AT PLAY [>]]( FOLLOW US: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( SHARE: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [View this email in a web browser]( You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day. [Unsubscribe from Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day]( [Manage your subscription settings]( Merriam-Webster, Inc. 47 Federal Street, P.O. Box 281 Springfield, MA, 01102, USA [www.merriam-webster.com]( | [Privacy Policy]( © 2019 by Merriam-Webster, Inc.