cloven

[ kloh-vuhn ]

verb

1. a past participle of cleave ²

adjective

1. cleft; cleave; cleft; split; divided:

   Goats have cloven hoofs.

cloven

/ ˈkləʊvən /

verb

1. a past participle of cleave 1

adjective

1. split; cleft; divided

Other Words From

• un·cloven adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cloven¹

First recorded in 1150–1200, for the adjective

Example Sentences

Stop using XamfirPM if you experience: headaches, joint pain, flaming discharge, wilted ribs, night quacking, glowing, cloven toes, kaleidoscopic vision, lycanthropy, Bea Arthur mimicking, or zombification.

From Washington Post

Foot and mouth disease is a highly contagious virus that affects cloven hooved animals.

From Reuters

Each monster was about the size of a cow, with a bowed back like a broken-down horse, matted gray fur, skinny legs, and black cloven hooves.

From Literature

In the video, the singer has deer horns and cloven hooves.

From New York Times

Made with both graphite and acrylic, the busy scenes achieve an entrancing variety of tones: acres of newspaper gray, crinkling across the drawings’ shallow perspective, are periodically cloven by a sudden swath of velvety black.

From New York Times