• Rive

    Pronunciation

    • UK IPA: /ɹaɪv/
    • Rhymes: -aɪv

    Origin

    From Middle English riven ("to rive"), of origin, from Old Norse rīfa ("to rend, tear apart"), from Proto-Germanic *rīfaną ("to tear, scratch"), from Proto-Indo-European *(e)reip- ("to crumble, tear"). Cognate with Danish rive ("to tear"), Old Frisian rīva ("to tear"), Old English ārǣfan ("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

    1. (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...
    2. (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.
    3. (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.
    4. In woodworking, to use a technique of splitting or sawing wood radially from a log (e.g. clapboards).

    Synonyms

    Noun

    rive

    (plural rives)
    1. A place torn; a rent; a rift.

    Synonyms

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