cloven

Cloven is an adjective meaning split or divided into two parts. The term derives from the Old English cleofan, meaning to split, and is the past participle of the verb cleave. In modern English, forms such as cleft and cleaved are also common, but cloven remains standard in certain phrases and technical usage.

In zoology, cloven refers to a hoof that is divided into two distinct digits. This hoof structure is characteristic of many even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla) and is used to describe animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, deer, and pigs. The term is often encountered in anatomical descriptions and in discussions of animal locomotion and taxonomy.

The phrase cloven hoof is also encountered in religious and historical contexts. For example, dietary and ritual laws in various traditions have described animals as clean or unclean based on having a split hoof. In broader cultural language, cloven appears in metaphorical expressions such as “the cloven tongues of fire” or references to a landscape or object divided into two parts.

In summary, cloven denotes something that is split into two, with a common applied sense in biology to describe a two-toed, split hoof and a range of figurative uses in literature and religion.