The state of being cleft.
The color of the stone is darker than appears to be natural in a fresh cleavage.--Schoolcraft in Amer. Ethnolog. Trans. Vol. I.
·noun The act of cleaving or splitting. II. Cleavage ·noun Division into laminae, like slate, with ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
The splitting of any body having a structure or line of cleavage: as fir cleaves longitudinally, sla...
The Sailor's Word-Book