Meaning

verb separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument

verb make by cutting into

verb come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation

originFrom Middle English cleven, from the Old English strong verb clēofan (“to split, to separate”), from Proto-West Germanic *kleuban, from Proto-Germanic *kleubaną, from Proto-Indo-European *glewbʰ- (“to cut, to slice”). Doublet of clive. Cognate with Dutch klieven, dialectal German klieben, Swedish klyva, Norwegian Nynorsk kløyva; also Ancient Greek γλύφω (glúphō, “carve”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0