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cleftsmall

Adjective
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Split, divided, or cut into two parts, often describing a physical opening, fracture, or separation in a landscape or object.

Detailed Definition
This looks like a poetic compound describing the fawn’s split hoof, with "cleft" meaning divided or forked. The form is unusual enough that readers may pause over it in the line.
Example
Example in poetry:
“his polished cleftsmall ebony hoves” uses a compressed compound to emphasize a split hoof’s smallness; Cleft hooves print two dark commas in snow; The goat’s cleft, small hooves strike the stone path; Compound description can make animal imagery vivid and strange
Additional Notes
The unusual form "cleftsmall" in "his polished cleftsmall ebony hoves" is not ordinary modern vocabulary and may puzzle readers.; Found in the poem, The Fawn by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Also Known As
cleft fissure split crevice
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