🐖 A split hoof 😈 Devil's sign

cloven foot

9.9

People in old stories say a split hoof shows someone is with the Devil

noun
/ˈkloʊvən fʊt/

Literature

: pezuña hendida

In medieval folklore, a cloven foot was often seen as undeniable proof of someone being in league with the Devil.

Examples

Some old paintings depict the Devil with a cloven foot to emphasize his evil nature.
Rumors spread through the village that the mysterious visitor had a cloven foot hidden under his cloak.
Many stories depict the Devil with a cloven foot.
Did you know that a cloven foot symbolizes mischief in folklore?
In medieval folklore, a cloven foot was often seen as undeniable proof of someone being in league with the Devil.
Some old paintings depict the Devil with a cloven foot to emphasize his evil nature.
Rumors spread through the village that the mysterious visitor had a cloven foot hidden under his cloak.

Synonyms

cloven hoof

vscloven foot

Literature

8.9

A hoof split into two parts used in stories as a sign of the Devil

is written using a different traditional term in common usage

Surface Forms

cloven foot singular

cloven feet plural

Morphology

cloven + foot

The phrase is partly compositional: 'cloven' (split hoof) combined with 'foot' yields a literal image of a split/hooved foot that a learner who knows both words can infer. However, the folkloric idiomatic meaning (a sign of the Devil) is a culture-specific association that cannot be predicted from the constituent words alone, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Cloven foot became a strong image in old stories because people pictured the Devil with a goat-like split hoof. One popular story says that seeing a cloven foot was taken as a 'sign of the Devil', so the phrase came to mean someone evil or untrustworthy.