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-1‘to crumble, tear’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rīfaną1‘to tear, scratch’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350rífa1‘to rend, tear apart’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500riven1‘to rive’
- Englishearliest quotation 1485rive1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English rive
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, vj: “And therwith she toke the swerd from her loue…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁reyp-Wiktionary, English rive‘to crumble, tear’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rīfanąWiktionary, English rive‘to tear, scratch’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350rífaWiktionary, English rive‘to rend, tear apart’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rivenWiktionary, English rive‘to rive’
- Englishearliest quotation 1485riveWiktionary, English rive. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 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.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “rive”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyp- / rive