An archaic or dialectal spelling and pronunciation of 'cliff,' used in older English texts and certain regional varieties.
From Old English clifu or cleif. The spelling 'clift' represents earlier English pronunciation and orthography; it evolved from the same Germanic roots as modern 'cliff' but preserves older spelling conventions.
Clift is a fascinating time capsule—it shows how spelling wasn't standardized until printing presses and dictionaries came along; you'll find it in Shakespeare and earlier writers where 'cliff' and 'clift' were both perfectly acceptable.
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