/ kleft; NAmE / noun , adjective
—see also cleave verb
■ noun
a natural opening or crack, for example in the ground or in rock, or in a person's chin :
a cleft in the rocks
■ adjective
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IDIOMS
- be (caught) in a cleft stick
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WORD ORIGIN
noun Middle English clift : of Germanic origin; related to Dutch kluft and German Kluft , also to cleave to split something in two . The form of the word was altered in the 16th cent. by association with cleft , the past participle of cleave.