▪ I. sunder, a. and adv.
(ˈsʌndə(r))
Forms: see below.
[(1) The adj. use in A. 1 is restricted to ME. compounds formed on the model of OE. compounds in sundor- (= OS. sundar-, OHG. suntar-, sunder-), as sundorriht special right, sundorsprǽc private speech; the use in A. 2 is prob. developed from the predicative use of sunder adv. = asunder: see C. (2) Under B. are grouped the phrases derived from ME. advb. phr. o(n)sunder, o(n)sundre, OE. onsundran (-um) asunder, q.v., by substitution of prep. in for on, o, a; cf. OS. an sundran and ON. {iacu} sundr, OHG., MHG. in sunder. (3) The advb. use in C. arose prob. in an aphetic form of asunder, but form and meaning correspond to OE. sundor adv., separately, apart = WFris. sonder, sunder, NFris. sanner prep., without, OS. sundar adv., MLG. sunder adv., prep., conj., MDu., Du. zonder prep., OHG. suntar, -ur, -ir, MHG. sunder, sonder adj., adv., prep., conj. (= but), G. sonder adj. and adv. (arch.), ON. sundr adv. (Da. s{obar}nder), Goth. sundrô adv.]
A. adj. (Also 3 Ormin sunnderr, 4 Sc. syndir, 5 sonder, -ir.)
† 1. In compounds formed after OE. compounds of sundor- = separate, peculiar, private, as sundorcræft special power, sundorsprǽc private conversation: sunderred, private advice; sunderrune, private conversation or counsel; also sunder-ble a., varicoloured, in quot. subst. Obs.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 29 Al swo cumeð þe deuel in to þe mannes herte þan he wile healde sunderrune wið him. c 1200 Ormin 16978 He ne durrste nohht Þatt aniȝ mann itt wisste, Þatt he wiþþ Crist i sunnderrrun Himm awihht haffde kiþþedd. c 1205 Lay. 31414 Ich þe suggen wulle ane sunder rune. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1729 Laban..bi-taȝte him ðo ðe sunder bles, And it him boren ones bles [Cf. Genesis xxx. 32–42]. Ibid. 3808 Ðoȝ ðis folc miðe a stund for-dred, Ðoȝ he ben get in sunder red. |
† 2. Separate; various, sundry. Obs.
| 13.. Cursor M. 8038 (Gött) Þair stouyn was on þat stod þaim vnder, Bot þair croppis ware all sunder [Cott. in sunder]. 1375 Barbour Bruce v. 506 Bot I herd syndir men oft say Forsuth that his ane e ves out. a 1390 Wyclif's Bible, Judg. xxi. 21 Whan ȝe seen the douȝtris of Sylo..goth out sodeynly out of the vines, and takith hem, eche sondry [MS. C. sunder] wyues. c 1436 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 151 Tres, levys, and herbis grene, Wyth many sonder colowris. |
B. in sunder. (Also 4–6 in sonder, sondre, 3–4 in-synder, 3 in sundre, 4 in sundere, sondire, sondyr(e, 4–5 esondre, 5 in sondir, sondere, sundur, ensundre, ysondur, 6 insundre, -der, in soonder; Sc. 4 in-swndir, 5–6 in schunder, 6 in schundyr, -ir, schounder, sounder, sownder, -ir, into sondir.) = asunder adv. Now poet. or rhet.
1. Apart or separate from another or from one another.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 8038 Þair stouen was an þat stod þam vnder, Bot þair croppes war all in sunder. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 73 Ȝif Paradys were so hiȝe, and departed in sonder from euery oþer lond and erþe. a 1400 Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. 716/31 Whyl Schip and Roþur togeder was knit, Þei dredde nouþer tempest, druyȝe nor wete: Nou be þei boþe In-synder flit. 1470–85 Malory Arthur iii. xiv. 116 They departed in sonder. 1513 Douglas æneis xi. xvii. 87 And na lang space thar ostis war in sowndir. 1523 in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. i. I. 227 Sory I am that the Kingis Highnes and your Grace be nowe so fer in sondre. 1551 Recorde Pathw. Knowl. i. Defin., That..the whole figures may the better bee iudged, and distincte in sonder. 1570–6 Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 255 Such as differeth no more from that which we at this day attribute to our Prince, than Principalis Dominus, and Supremus Gubernator do varie in sunder. 1607 Bp. Andrewes 96 Serm. (1629) 20 So taking our nature, as, His, and it are growen into one person, never to be..taken in sunder any more. 1661 Boyle Examen (1662) 91 These Scales..if..they are pluckt in sunder,..make a noise equal to the report of a Musquet. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) IV. 33 Let us be united, past the power of parents, rivals, potentates of the world, to tear us in sunder. |
2. Of a single object (or of objects singly considered): Into separate parts or pieces. lit. and fig. Chiefly with vbs. like break, cleave, cut, tear.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 26011 Als þof his hert him brest in sunder. a 1375 Lay Folks Mass Bk. App. iv. 350 Wiþ his teth a-non He logged, þat al in synder gon lasch. 1375 Barbour Bruce xvii. 698 The mast summer..In-swndir with that dusche he brak. c 1400 Destr. Troy 5829 He..hurt hym full sore; The gret vayne of his gorge gird vne ysondur. c 1440 Gesta Rom. lxi. 253 (Harl. MS.) He kutte ensundre alle his clothis. c 1470 Henryson Mor. Fab. viii. (Lion & Mouse) xxxv, Thay..schuir the raipis of the net in schunder. 1508 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 350, I gert the renȝeis rak, et rif into sondir [v.r. schundyr]. 1535 Coverdale Ps. cvi[i]. 14 He..brake their bondes in sonder. 1598 Hakluyt Voy. I. 54 Some of these Tabernacles may quickely be taken asunder and set together againe... Other some cannot be taken insunder. 1666 Bunyan Grace Ab. §164, I was..as if my breast bone would have split in sunder. 1709 Hearne Collect. 17 Aug. (O.H.S.) II. 236 He was..cut in sunder by his Father. 1820 Shelley Ode Lib. xiii, Vesuvius wakens Aetna, and the cold Snow-crags by its reply are cloven in sunder. 1855 Kingsley Heroes, Theseus ii. 210 Their bodies are torn in sunder. 1907 Verney Mem. I. 222 Her husband..torn in sunder by political and religious sympathies. |
† 3. from (fra) sunder, in sense 1. Obs.
| c 1375 Cursor M. 14687 (Fairf.) Fra sundre may we neuer twin. 1558 T. Phaer æneid iii. G iv b, These places two sometime,..From sonder fel. |
† C. adv. Apart, asunder. Obs. rare.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 20385 Yee þat sa wide war sunder spred. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) Pref. 2 A flokk of schepe þat has na schepehird, þe whilk departes sunder. c 1400 Destr. Troy 11062 The prese of the pepull partid hom sonder. 1539 Tonstall Serm. Palm Sund. (1823) 90 Teare sunder your hartes, and not your clothes. |
▪ II. sunder, v. Now poet. or rhet.
(ˈsʌndə(r))
Forms: 1 sundrian, syndrian, Northumb. suindria, 3 sundren, -in, 3–5 sundre, 4 north. sundir, 4–5 sondre, 4–6 sonder, 5 sondir(e, sundur, -yre, sounder, Sc. swndre, 6 soonder, (scinder), Sc. sindre, sindir, synder, 6–9 Sc. sinder, 4– sunder.
[late OE. syndrian, sundrian, for earlier ásyndrian, ásundrian (see asunder v.), ᵹe-, on-, tósundrian = WFris. sonderje, LG. sundern, OHG. sunt(a)rôn, sund(e)rôn, (MHG. sunteren, sundern, G. sondern), ON. sundra; f. prec.
The rare 16th c. form scinder, if not a misprint, is prob. due to association with L. scindĕre to cleave.]
1. trans. To dissolve connexion between two or more persons or things; to separate or part one from another. † Also, to set (a person) apart from a state of life; to remove (something) from a person.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xix. 6 Quod ergo deus coniunxit, homo non separet, þæt forðon god ᵹe-geadrade monn ne..suindria. a 1050 Liber Scintill. i. (1889) 5 Eorþena langnyss na syndrað þa þe soð lufu ᵹeþeod. a 1067 Charter of Eadweard in Kemble Cod. Dipl. IV. 209 Ᵹif æni man hit awuniᵹe mid æfræniᵹe þinge.., si he ᵹesyndred fram Criste and fram eallen his halᵹan. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 169 Þe licame senegeð, and sundreð hire [sc. the soul] fram rihtwisnesse. a 1225 Ancr. R. 426 Hwon þet fur is wel o brune, & me wule þet hit go ut, me sundreð þe brondes. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 468 Of irin, of golde, siluer, and bras To sundren and mengen wis he was. a 1300 Cursor M. 24616 Þan com mi cosin sant iohan,..Mi soru fra me to sunder. c 1325 Metr. Hom. 48 Pharisenes..Thai war sundered of comoun lif. 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 170 Þei teld fiueten hundred Sarazins, þat drenkled were, Fourti & sex wer sundred, & alle þo were saued þere. 1375 in Horstmann Altengl. Leg. (1878) 130/1, I drede me he shel him sle. Þerfore sondred shel þeȝ be. c 1470 Henry Wallace iv. 626 Schir Jhon Butler..Swndryt the Scottis and did thaim mekill payn. 1525 St. Papers Hen. VIII, IV. 297 Ye Lordis..under colour wald begin new usis to synder me and ye King my son. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 235 The king..caussit the iudges and men of armes to sinder and red thame [sc. combatants]. 1592 Kyd Sp. Trag. i. ii. 59 Heere falles a body scindred [later edd. sundred] from his head. 1628 Ford Lover's Mel. i. i, Twelue monthes we haue been sundred, but henceforth We neuer more will part. 1634 Heywood Lancs Witches iv. G iij, The Gentile fashion sometimes we observe To sunder beds. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 133 When both the Chiefs are sund'red from the Fight. 1812 Cary Dante, Purg. xxxii. 14 That excess of sensible, whence late I had perforce been sunder'd. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. xxviii, We that are sindered in sorrow may meet again in joy. 1865 Geikie Scen. & Geol. Scot. iii. 43 A mass, once evidently connected with the main cliff..has been sundered by the roof of the tunnel falling in. 1885 Finlayson Biol. Relig. 86 Atoms may be so sundered, and forces so transmuted, that the human personality, as such, may cease to be. |
| refl. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 209 Þe deuel..sundrede him seluen fro gode. a 1300 Cursor M. 22242 Bot all kingrikes þat rome was vnder Fra lauerd-hed o rome þam sundre. 1401 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 91 He..that sundrith him from Crist and his chirche. 1591 Spenser Vis. Worlds Van. 64 A sword-fish small him from the rest did sunder. 1605 Camden Rem., Languages (1623) 22 Holy religious men, which had sundred and seuered themselues from other. 1612 Brerewood Lang. & Relig. xxvi. (1614) 185 Before the Apostles left Syria, and sundred themselues to preach the Gospell abroad in the world. |
† b. To separate in thought, distinguish. Obs.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 270 Þe ȝeteward—þet is wittes skile—þet ouh forto winden hweate, & scheaden þe eilen & tet chef urom þe clene cornes, þet is,..sundren god from vuele. 1357 Lay Folks Catech. (T.) 427 It kennes us to knaw the gode fra the yvel, And als-so to sundir the tane fra the tothir. 1550 Coverdale Spir. Perle vii. 65 To sonder and to know the one from the other, the faythfull from the vnfaythfull. |
† c. To dissolve, put an end to (a state or condition). Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 26054 Reuth..sundres felauschipe þat was Bituix þe saul and sathanas. 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 28 Whan dede his lyfe sundred, þe folk for him was wo. 1548 Geste Agst. Priv. Masse A vj, Thee Pryuee Masse..sondereth and diuorseth the marriage betwene christ & vs. |
2. To divide into two or more parts; to split, break up, cleave.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 412 Nu is þeos laste dole..to-deled and i-sundred o lutle seoue stucchenes. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 13154 Þey dide sondre þer route. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 4789 Ilka stan, on divers wyse, Sal sonder other in thre partyse. c 1400 Destr. Troy 7276 He..Swynget out a sword,..Sundret the sercle of his sure helme. a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 4268 Ne nauthire sondire we þe soile ne na sede sawis. 1570–6 Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 334 The whole Realme was sundred into particular kingdomes. 1614 Raleigh Hist. World iii. vi. §2 Xerxes most barbarously caused the young man..to be sundered into two parts. 1887 Morris Odyss. iii. 449 The beast's neck-tendons he sundered with the blade. |
3. To keep apart, separate by an intervening space or barrier, from something. rare. (Chiefly pass.)
| 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. v. x. 27 No space of Earth shall sunder our two hates. 1611 Coryat Crudities 54 Which Alpes are sundred by the space of many miles the one from the other. 1876 J. Parker Paracl. i. vii. 106 Can any two spheres be much more widely sundered than those of the preacher of the gospel and the artificer in iron and brass? 1887 Morris Odyss. i. 58 The long-wrought pillars that sunder the heavens from the earthly land. |
4. intr. To become separated or severed from something; esp. of a number of persons, to part.
| c 1220 Bestiary 703 Wo so seit he [sc. turtle-doves] sundren ovt, i seie ðat he leȝeð. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 1794 Swa þæt nan ne mei sundrin from oðere. a 1300 Cursor M. 13951 Fra him sal i sundre neuer. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 4454 Of alle þe fighters..þer was manyon doun leyd,..& wel mo scholde ȝit þat nyght, Had þey nought sondred for faute of lyght. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 7 Whene oure saules schalle parte and sundyre ffra the body. 1570 Satir. Poems Reform. xviii. 99 Sinder not now that ar assemblit togidder, Quhill ane be chosin the commoun weill to auance. a 1650 Calderwood Hist. Kirk (1843) II. 234 They sindered, and were not so familiar after. 1725 Ramsay Gentle Sheph. iv. ii, Pate must from his Peggy sunder. 1827 Hood Hero & Leander xvi, So brave Leander sunders from his bride. 1867 G. Macdonald Poems 116 Its branches sunder not in any wind. |
† b. To part with. Sc. Obs.
| a 1575 Diurn. Occurr. (Bannatyne Cl.) 333 He wald rather byd the will of God nor sinder with the same castell. 1722 Ramsay Three Bonnets i. 60 Ye shall hear..How Joukum sinder'd wi' his bonnet. |
5. To be torn, break, or split in pieces.
| [1390 Gower Conf. I. 312 The firy welkne gan to thondre, As thogh the world scholde al to sondre.] a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 3003 Alexander..rydis To þe grete flode of Granton & it on a glace fyndis. Or he was soȝt to þe side, ȝit sondird þe qweryns. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iii. ii. 411 Euen as a splitted Barke, so sunder we. 1614 Raleigh Hist. World iv. ii. §4 He commanded that this poore Græcian should bee presently slaine: who while hee was a sundring in the Tormentors hand, [etc.]. 1839 Times 26 Apr., Let them crack, split and sunder of themselves. 1881 Rossetti White Ship 151 The White Ship sundered on the mid-main. |
Hence ˈsunderable a., that may be sundered, separable; ˈsunderer, one who sunders or severs.
| 1885 J. E. Harrison Stud. Gk. Art v. 227 In Plato's ideal philosophy, truth, beauty, and goodness are scarcely sunderable. 1888 Meredith A Reading of Earth Poems 1898 II. 144 We may cry to the Sunderer, spare That dearest! |