Etymology
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cliff (n.)

Old English clif "steep and rugged face of a rocky mass, promontory, steep slope," from Proto-Germanic *kliban (source also of Old Saxon clif, Old Norse klif, Middle Dutch klippe, Dutch klip, Old High German klep, German Klippe "cliff, promontory, steep rock").

Clift has been a variant spelling since 15c. and was common in early Modern English. It represents an influence by or merger with clift, a variant of cleft (n.). Cliff-dweller first attested 1879, American English, in reference to aboriginal tribes of the U.S. Southwest who built dwellings in natural recesses in cliffs.

Entries linking to cliff

cleft (n.)

1570s, alteration (by influence of cleft, new weak past participle of cleave (v.1)), of Middle English clift "fissure, rift, space or opening made by cleaving" (early 14c.), from Old English geclyft (adj.) "split, cloven," from Proto-Germanic *kluftis (compare Old High German chluft, German Kluft, Danish kløft "cleft, fissure, gap"), from PIE root *gleubh- "to tear apart, cleave." In Middle English anatomy, it meant "the parting of the thighs" (early 14c.).

Cleveland 

city in Ohio, U.S., laid out 1796 by Gen. Moses Cleaveland (1754-1806) and later named for him. His descendants included U.S. President Grover Cleveland (1837-1908). The family name (attested from 12c.) is from one of several place names in England based on Middle English cleove, a variant of cliff.

updated on December 30, 2017

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Dictionary entries near cliff

click

click-bait

clicker

client

clientele

cliff

cliff-hanger

Clifford

climacteric

climactic

climate

© 2001-2023 Douglas Harper