The story
- Old Norse · derived fromrífa“to pick, scratch, rive”
- Middle English · inherited fromriven
- English todayriven
From Middle English riven, past participle of rive (“to rive”). Compare Old Norse rifinn, past participle of Old Norse rífa (“to pick, scratch, rive”).
Words from the same roots
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.