# rend

> English word · Verb · IPA /ɹɛnd/ · frequency rank #57,671

## Definitions
1. To separate into parts with force or sudden violence; to split; to burst.
2. To violently disturb the peace of; to throw into chaos.
3. To part or tear off forcibly; to take away by force; to amputate.
4. To be rent or torn; to become parted; to separate; to split.

## Etymology
From Middle English renden, from Old English rendan (“to rend, tear, cut, lacerate, cut down”), from Proto-West Germanic *(h)randijan (“to tear”), of uncertain origin. Believed by some to be the causative of Proto-Germanic *hrindaną (“to push”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱret-, *kret- (“to hit, beat”), which would make it related to Old English hrindan (“to thrust, push”). Cognate with Scots rent (“to rend, tear”), Old Frisian renda (“to tear”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/rend