reaver

R1E1A1V4E1R1
/ˈɹiːvə(ɹ)/

noun

One who reaves; a plunderer, marauder, or pillager.

OriginMiddle English revere ← Old English rēafere →
UncommonScrabble 9
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Meanings

nounreaver (plural reavers)

plural reavers · alternative reiver · alternative archaic riever

  1. One who reaves; a plunderer, marauder, or pillager.

    nobody knows where these reavers from hell roam in their errands.

    1999, Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, London: Faber and Faber, page 7

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
corsairpirate

Origin

  1. Old Englishrēafere“reaver; robber; spoiler”
  2. Middle Englishrevere
  3. Englishreaver

From Middle English revere (also revour, reiver, refar, reavere), from Old English rēafere (“reaver; robber; spoiler”), equivalent to reave + -er. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Roower, Dutch rover, German Räuber, Swedish rövare, Icelandic raufari. Compare robber, rover.

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with reaver

receiverleverweaverretrieverbelievertransceiverlivrerelievercleaverleaverdeceiverbeverbevorheaversnail feverweever
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

reaver. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reaver

MLA

“reaver.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reaver. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “reaver,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reaver.

Source: reaver on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.