Both Uses of
cleave
in
King Lear
- When thou clovest thy crown i' the middle and gav'st away both parts, thou borest thine ass on thy back o'er the dirt: thou hadst little wit in thy bald crown when thou gavest thy golden one away.†
Scene 1.4clovest = split (or divide in two)standard suffix: Today, the suffix "-est" is dropped, so that where they said "Thou clovest" in older English, later they said, "You clove."
- You sulphurous and thought-executing fires, Vaunt couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts, Singe my white head!†
Scene 3.2 *
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) a proper noun or other word too rare to warrant focus