Etymograph

English

cleave

Cleave comes from Middle English cleven ‘to slice at’, from Proto-West Germanic *kleuban ‘to split, to cleave’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *glewbʰ- ‘to cut, to slice’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*glewbʰ-‘to cut, to slice’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kleubaną‘to split, to cleave’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kleuban‘to split, to cleave’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150clēofan
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cleven‘to slice at’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602cleave

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*glewbʰ-‘to cut, to slice’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kleubaną‘to split, to cleave’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kleuban‘to split, to cleave’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150clēofan
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cleven‘to slice at’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602cleave

Earliest quotation: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *glewbʰ- ‘to cut, to slice’

clapper, glyph, cleve, 12 more

through Proto-Germanic *kleubaną ‘to split, to cleave’

clive, cleft, 1 more

through Proto-West Germanic *kleuban ‘to split, to cleave’

clove, 1 more

Today it means

verb To split or sever something with, or as if with, a sharp instrument.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *glewbʰ- / cleave

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