Reave vs Cleave - What's the difference?
reave | cleave |
(archaic) To plunder, pillage, rob, pirate, or remove.
*
* 1997 , Lawrence R. Schehr, Rendering French Realism (ISBN 0804780161), page 18:
(archaic) To split, tear, break apart.
To split or sever something with, or as if with, a sharp instrument.
* Shakespeare
(mineralogy) To break a single crystal (such as a gemstone or semiconductor wafer) along one of its more symmetrical crystallographic planes (often by impact), forming facets on the resulting pieces.
To make or accomplish by or as if by cutting.
(chemistry) To split (a complex molecule) into simpler molecules.
To split.
(mineralogy) Of a crystal, to split along a natural plane of division.
(technology) Flat, smooth surface produced by cleavage, or any similar surface produced by similar techniques, as in glass.
To cling, adhere or stick fast to something; used with to or unto.
As verbs the difference between reave and cleave
is that reave is (archaic) to plunder, pillage, rob, pirate, or remove or reave can be (archaic) to split, tear, break apart while cleave is to split or sever something with, or as if with, a sharp instrument or cleave can be to cling, adhere or stick fast to something; used with to or unto.As a noun cleave is
(technology) flat, smooth surface produced by cleavage, or any similar surface produced by similar techniques, as in glass.reave
English
Etymology 1
(etyl) reven, from (etyl) 'to roughen', Sanskrit (term) 'to make suffer'). See (m) and (m).Alternative forms
* reiveVerb
- And I for one am not convinced of the innocence of the model: it is as if we let a criminal make up the law as he or she ambles along, reaving right and left.
Derived terms
* border reiversEtymology 2
Alteration of rive by confusion with the above.Verb
cleave
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) cleven, from the (etyl) strong verb .Verb
- The wings cleaved the foggy air.
- O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain.
- The truck cleaved a path through the ice.