rive

[rahyv] /raɪv/
verb (used with object), rived, rived or riven, riving.
1.
to tear or rend apart:
to rive meat from a bone.
2.
to separate by striking; split; cleave.
3.
to rend, harrow, or distress (the feelings, heart, etc.).
4.
to split (wood) radially from a log.
verb (used without object), rived, rived or riven, riving.
5.
to become rent or split apart:
stones that rive easily.
Origin
1225-75; Middle English riven < Old Norse rīfa to tear, split. See rift
Related forms
unrived, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for rive

rive

/raɪv/
verb (usually passive) rives, riving, rived, rived, riven (ˈrɪvən)
1.
to split asunder: a tree riven by lightning
2.
to tear apart: riven to shreds
3.
(archaic) to break (the heart) or (of the heart) to be broken
Word Origin
C13: from Old Norse rīfa; related to Old Frisian rīva
Word Origin and History for rive
v.

"tear in pieces, strike asunder," c.1200, from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse rifa "to tear apart" (cf. Swedish rifva, Danish rive "scratch, tear"), from PIE root *rei- "to scratch, tear, cut" (see riparian).