cleave

{{11}}cleave (1) "to split," O.E. cleofan "to split, separate" (class II strong verb, past tense cleaf, past participle clofen), from P.Gmc. *kleubanan (Cf. O.S. klioban, O.N. kljufa, Dan. klöve, Du. kloven, O.H.G. klioban, Ger. klieben "to cleave, split"), from PIE root *gleubh- "to cut, slice" (see GLYPH (Cf. glyph)). Past tense form clave is recorded in Northern writers from 14c. and was used with both verbs (see CLEAVE (Cf. cleave) (2)), apparently by analogy with other Middle English strong verbs. Clave was common to c.1600 and still alive at the time of the KJV; weak past tense cleaved for this verb also emerged in 14c.; cleft is still later. The pp. cloven survives, though mostly in compounds.

{{12}}cleave (2) "to adhere," O.E. clifian, from W.Gmc. *klibajanan (Cf. O.S. klibon, O.H.G. kliban, Du. kleven, O.H.G. kleben, Ger. kleben "to stick, cling"), from PIE *gloi- "to stick" (see CLAY (Cf. clay)). The confusion was less in O.E. when cleave (1) was a class 2 strong verb; but it has grown since cleave (1) weakened, which may be why both are largely superseded by stick and split.