[syn: cleave, split, rive]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Rive \Rive\, v. t. [imp. Rived; p. p. Rived or Riven; p.
pr. & vb. n. Riving.] [Icel. r[imac]fa, akin to Sw. rifva
to pull asunder, burst, tear, Dan. rive to rake, pluck, tear.
Cf. Reef of land, Rifle a gun, Rift, Rivel.]
To rend asunder by force; to split; to cleave; as, to rive
timber for rails or shingles.
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I shall ryve him through the sides twain. --Chaucer.
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The scolding winds have rived the knotty oaks. --Shak.
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Brutus hath rived my heart. --Shak.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Rive \Rive\, v. i.
To be split or rent asunder.
[1913 Webster]
Freestone rives, splits, and breaks in any direction.
--Woodward.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Rive \Rive\, n.
A place torn; a rent; a rift. [Prov. Eng.]
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
rive
v 1: tear or be torn violently; "The curtain ripped from top to
bottom"; "pull the cooked chicken into strips" [syn:
rend, rip, rive, pull]
2: separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument;
"cleave the bone" [syn: cleave, split, rive]