Cliffe

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An old variant spelling of cliff, meaning a steep rock face or precipice ; a proper name borne by several English villages such as the one in Kent, and also a family surname
2. A historical form of the word for a high steep face of rock ; a place name for several English locations, as well as a surname held by various families
3. An archaic spelling of the noun denoting a steep rock wall or bluff ; a proper noun naming English villages and people with that family name

Etymology: "Cliffe" is an older spelling of "cliff," and the form survives mainly in place names such as Ratcliffe and Radcliffe, where the old spelling was kept. The word traces back to Old English "clif," meaning "cliff" or "crag," a term for a steep rock face that English inherited from the Germanic stock of the language. The spelling with the final "e" was once the ordinary way to write the word, and it hung on in proper names long after the plain form became standard. Many English surnames and towns preserve it, so readers meeting "cliffe" today are more likely to be looking at a place name than at a common noun.