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To part or divide by force; to split or rive; to cut. O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain. Shak.

A cleft of crack; a narrow opening. [Obs.]

One of the divisions of a cleft hoof, as in the ox; also, the whole hoof.

A cleft in a hill; a ravine; a narrow valley. Nares.

imp. of Cleave. Cleft. Spenser. Clove hitch (Naut.) See under Hitch. -- Clove hook (Naut.), an iron two-part hook, with jaws overlapping, used in bending chain sheets to the clews of sails; -- called also clip hook. Knight.

A chief man; a leader or master. [Humorous] Sir Andrew is the cock of the club, since he left us. Addison.

One of the rough pillars of stone or coal left to support the roof of a mine.

Recollection; recognition. Who, soon as on that knight his eye did glance, Eftsoones of him had perfect cognizance. Spenser.

to undergo a collapse; as, Maximilian's government collapsed soon after the French army left Mexico; many financial projects collapse after attaining some success and importance.

fect or malformation; esp., a fissure of the iris supposed to be a persistent embryonic cleft.

carpel of a compound pistil may be attached, as in the case of the geranium; or which is left when a pod opens.

closure; the place where two bodies, or parts of a body, meet and unite; an interstice, cleft, or juncture.

Society, in general; people assembled for social intercourse. Nature has left every man a capacity of being agreeable, though not of shining in company. Swift.

A space left unroofed over the court of a Roman dwelling, through which the rain fell into the impluvium or cistern.

posing stick (Print.), an instrument usually of metal, which the compositor holds in his left hand, and in which he arranges the type in words and lines. It has one open side, and one adjustable end by means of which the length of the lines, and consequently the width of the page or column, may be determined.…

deration for forbearing to prosecute, such compounding being an indictable offense. See Theftbote.

A place of hiding; a secret place; a retreat frem observation. The cleft tree Offers its kind concealment to a few. Thomson.

he steam Which overflowed the soul had passed away, A consciousness remained that it had left. . . . images and precious thoughts That shall not die, and can not be destroyed. Wordsworth. The consciousness of wrong brought with it the consciousness of weakness. Froude.

n; the act of intending or purposing. In contemplation of returning at an early date, he left. Reid. To have in contemplation, to inted or purpose, or to have under consideration.

something that may or may not occur; as, a contingent estate. If a contingent legacy be left to any one when he attains, or if he attains, the age of twenty-one. Blackstone.