REND

verb (rent; also ~ed; ~ing) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English ~an; akin to Old Frisian ~a to tear and perhaps to Sanskrit randhra hole Date: before 12th century transitive verb to remove from place by violence ; wrest , to split or tear apart or in pieces by violence, to tear (the hair or clothing) as a sign of anger, grief, or despair, 4. to lacerate mentally or emotionally, to pierce with sound, to divide (as a nation) into contesting factions, intransitive verb to perform an act of tearing or splitting, to become torn or split, see: tear