Meaning

noun a split or indentation in something (as the palate or chin)

noun a long narrow opening

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

originFrom Middle English clift, from Old English ġeclyft, from Proto-West Germanic *klufti, from Proto-Germanic *kluftiz, equivalent to cleave + -t (“-th”). Compare Dutch klucht (“coarse comedy”), Swedish klyft (“cave, den”), German Kluft. See cleave.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0