Sunder

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ÊŒndÉ™(ɹ)

From Middle English, from Old English sundor- ("separate, different"), from Proto-Germanic *sundraz ("isolated, particular, alone"), from Proto-Indo-European *snter-, *seni-, *senu-, *san- ("apart, without, for oneself"). Cognate with Old Saxon sundar ("particular, special"), Dutch zonder ("without"), German sonder ("special, set apart"), Old Norse sundr ("separate"), Danish sønder ("apart, asunder"), Latin sine ("without").

Full definition of sunder

Adjective

1. (dialectal or obsolete) Sundry; different.

From Middle English sundren ("to separate, part, divide"), from Old English sundrian ("to separate, split, part, divide"), from Proto-Germanic *sundrōną ("to separate"), from Proto-Indo-European *sen(e)- ("separate, without"). Cognate with Scots sinder, sunder ("to separate, divide, split up"), Dutch zonderen ("to isolate"), German sondern ("to separate"), Swedish söndra ("to divide"). More at sundry.

Verb

1. (transitive) To break or separate or to break apart, especially with force.
2. (intransitive) To part, separate.2003, Dean Barton, Searching for the Evergreen Man Chapter , … Carlo finally saw Everything, before it sunders into things; he saw Knowledge before it sunders into knowing; he saw Integrity before it sunders in integrals; he saw Unity before it sunders into units.
3. (UK, dialect, dated, transitive) To expose to the sun and wind.

Derived terms

• asunder
• sunderance

Noun

1. a separation into parts; a division or severance
• 1939, , Additional Poems, VII, lines 2-4He would not stay for me to stand and gaze.I shook his hand and tore my heart in sunderAnd went with half my life about my ways.

Anagrams

• nursed