Where does “riven” come from?
Riven comes from the past participle of Old English rive, from Old Norse rífa meaning to tear or rend, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European (e)reip-.
riven (English): past participle of rive; Torn apart; Broken into...
Definitions
- past participle of rive; Torn apart; Broken into...
Ancestry of “riven”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | riven | to rive |
| 2 | Old Norse | rífa | to tear apart; to tear, break; to pick, scratch,... |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | rīfaną | to tear, rend |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | rēy- | thing; possession; to regulate, count; to count,... |
Words derived from “riven”