Etymology

rive

R1I1V4E1

Today it means: To tear apart by force; to rend; to split; to cleave. Full definition →

Middle English riven ← Old Norse rífa ← Proto-Germanic *rīfaną
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rive · verb, noun1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁reyp-
  2. Proto-Germanic*rīfaną
  3. Old Norserífa
  4. Middle Englishriven
  5. English todayrive

From Middle English riven (“to rive”), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse rífa (“to rend, tear apart”), from Proto-Germanic *rīfaną (“to tear, scratch”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyp- (“to crumble, tear”). Cognate with Danish rive (“to tear”), Old Frisian rīva (“to tear”), Old English ārǣfan (“to let loose, unwrap”), Old Norse ript (“breach of contract, rift”), Norwegian Bokmål rive (“to tear”), Swedish riva (”to tear”) and Albanian rrip (“belt, rope”). More at rift.

rive · noun, verb2

Compare Latin ripa (“shore”).

Rive · proper noun3

  1. French · borrowed fromRive
  2. English todayRive

Borrowed from French Rive.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishriven all →

Old Norserífa all →

Proto-Germanic*rīfaną all →

rifle

Proto-Indo-European*h₁reyp- all →

riverrife

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.