English
rive
Rive comes from Middle English riven ‘to rive’, from Old Norse rífa ‘to rend, tear apart’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyp-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁reyp-‘to crumble, tear’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rīfaną‘to tear, scratch’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350rífa‘to rend, tear apart’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500riven‘to rive’
- Englishearliest quotation 1485rive
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁reyp-‘to crumble, tear’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rīfaną‘to tear, scratch’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350rífa‘to rend, tear apart’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500riven‘to rive’
- Englishearliest quotation 1485rive
Earliest quotation: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, vj: “And therwith she toke the swerd from her loue…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyp- ‘to crumble, tear’
rope, reap, ripe, rife, riviera, riparian, 6 more
through Proto-Germanic *rīfaną ‘to tear, scratch’
Today it means
verb To tear apart by force; to rend; to split; to cleave.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyp- / rive