Rive
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: /ɹaɪv/
- Rhymes: -aɪv
Origin
From Middle English riven ("to rive"), of origin, from Old Norse rÄ«fa ("to rend, tear apart"), from Proto-Germanic *rÄ«fanÄ… ("to tear, scratch"), from Proto-Indo-European *(e)reip- ("to crumble, tear"). Cognate with Danish rive ("to tear"), Old Frisian rÄ«va ("to tear"), Old English ÄrÇ£fan ("to let loose, unwrap"), Old Norse ript (rift, "breach of contract"), Norwegian rive ("to tear") and Albanian rrip ("belt, rope"). More at rift.
Full definition of rive
Verb
- (transitive, archaic except in past participle) To tear apart by force; to split; to cleave.
- ShakespeareI have seen tempests, when the scolding winds
Have rived the knotty oaks... - (transitive, archaic) To pierce or cleave with a weapon.
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book II:he wente vnto her for to haue taken the swerd oute of her hand but ... sodenly she sette the pomell to the ground, and rofe her self thorow the body.
- (intransitive) To break apart; to split.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.vi:The varlet at his plaint was grieu'd so sore,
That his deepe wounded hart in two did riue .... - WoodwardFreestone rives, splits, and breaks in any direction.
- In woodworking, to use a technique of splitting or sawing wood radially from a log (e.g. clapboards).