“ R. Morris, 1872, E.E.T.S. 49) —“On the clothed the neddre (adder) is cof (quick) and the devel cliver on sinnes,” i.e. quick to seize hold of; this would connect the word with a M. Eng. “cliver” or “clivre,” a talon or claw (so H. Wedgwood, Dict. of Eng. Etym.) . The ultimate original would be the root appearing in “claw,” “cleave,” “cling,” “clip,” &c., meaning to “stick to.” This original sense probably survives in the frequent use of the word for nimble, dexterous, quick and skilful in the use of the hands, and so it is often applied to a horse, “clever at his fences.” ”