Cloven
['kləʊv(ə)n] or ['klovən'fʊtɪd]
Definition
(-) of Cleave
(p. p. & a.) from Cleave, v. t.
Typed by Arlene
Definition
p.adj. split: divided.—adjs. Clov′en-foot′ed Clov′en-hoofed having the hoof divided as the ox or sheep.—The cloven hoof applied to any indication of devilish agency or temptation from the early representation of the devil with cloven hoofs—prob. from Pan some of whose characteristics he shares.
Checker: Mimi
Examples
- They are for the use of horses, but they are shaped below with a cloven foot of iron, so as to throw pursuers off the track. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- Have the cloven tongues come down again? Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- This very sword has cloven hundreds of Saracen Knights from crown to chin in those old times when Godfrey wielded it. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
Checker: Mimi