cloven hoof
- noun
- /ˈkloʊvən huf/
- Literature
:
pezuña hendida
- In many mythologies, the cloven hoof is often seen as a sign of evil or demonic presence.
Examples
-
That night he dreamed he was dancing with JoAnn Knox, who had grown a cloven hoof out of her forehead.
Fiction book (1993) -
The goat's cloven hoof allowed it to navigate rocky terrain with ease.
-
In folklore, animals with a cloven hoof are frequently associated with dark magic.
Synonyms
People in old stories say a split hoof shows someone is with the Devil
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal sense 'a split hoof' is directly derivable from 'cloven' (split) + 'hoof' and would be understood by a B1 learner who knows both words. However, the conventionalized cultural/idiomatic association with the Devil is a figurative extension not predictable from the constituents, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Cloven hoof appears in old stories where the Devil is shown with a cloven hoof instead of a human foot. One popular story says the split, animal-like look made it a 'sign of evil', so the image came to mean a link with the Devil or bad forces.
