different between cleave vs bisect

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /kli?v/
• (US) IPA^(key): /kliv/
• Rhymes: -i?v

Etymology 1

From Middle English cleven, from the Old English strong verb cl?ofan (“to split, to separate”), from Proto-Germanic *kleuban?, from Proto-Indo-European *glewb?- (“to cut, to slice”). Doublet of clive. Cognate with Dutch klieven, dialectal German klieben, Swedish klyva, Norwegian Nynorsk kløyva; also Ancient Greek ????? (glúph?, “carve”).

Verb

cleave (third-person singular simple present cleaves, present participle cleaving, simple past cleft or clove or (UK) cleaved or (archaic) clave, past participle cleft or cloven or (UK) cleaved)

1. (transitive) To split or sever something with, or as if with, a sharp instrument.

   The wings cleaved the foggy air.
2. (transitive, 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.
3. (transitive) To make or accomplish by or as if by cutting.

   The truck cleaved a path through the ice.

4. (transitive, chemistry) To split (a complex molecule) into simpler molecules.
5. (intransitive) To split.

6. (intransitive, mineralogy) Of a crystal, to split along a natural plane of division.

Related terms

Translations

Noun

cleave (plural cleaves)

1. (technology) Flat, smooth surface produced by cleavage, or any similar surface produced by similar techniques, as in glass.

Related terms

• cleavage
• cleft

Derived terms

• cleaver

Etymology 2

From Middle English cleven, a conflation of two verbs: Old English clifian (from Proto-Germanic *klib?n?) and Old English cl?fan (from Proto-Germanic *kl?ban?), both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gleyb?- (“to stick”).

Verb

cleave (third-person singular simple present cleaves, present participle cleaving, simple past and past participle cleaved)

1. (intransitive) To cling, adhere or stick fast to something; used with to or unto.

Translations

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:adhere

References

• cleave in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• cleave in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) enPR: b?-s?kt', IPA^(key): /ba??s?kt/
• Rhymes: -?kt

Verb

bisect (third-person singular simple present bisects, present participle bisecting, simple past and past participle bisected)

1. (transitive) To cut or divide into two parts.
   1. (transitive, geometry) To divide an angle, line segment, or other figure into two equal parts.
   2. (computing) To perform a binary search on files in source control in order to identify the specific change that introduced a bug etc.

Synonyms

• (to divide into two parts): dichotomize, dimidiate; see also Thesaurus:bisect

Translations

Noun

bisect (plural bisects)

1. (geometry) A bisector, which divides into two equal parts.
2. (philately) An envelope, card, or fragment thereof showing an affixed cut half of a regular issued stamp, over which one or more postal markings have been applied. Typically used in wartime when normal lower rate stamps may not be available.

Translations

See also

• dissect
• vivisect

Romanian

Etymology

From French bissexte, from Latin bissextus.

Adjective

bisect m or n (feminine singular bisect?, masculine plural bisec?i, feminine and neuter plural bisecte)

1. bissextil

Declension