▪ I. rend, n.
[f. the verb: cf. rent n.]
† 1. A rent, split, division. Obs. rare.
| 1670 Baxter Cure Ch. Div. 381 O what rends and ruins had it prevented in the Christian world? a 1674 Clarendon Hist. Reb. xiv. §99 There appeared such a rend among the Officers of the Army, that the Protector was compelled to displace many of them. |
2. techn. (Such quots.)
| 1704 J. Harris Lex. Techn. I, Rends in a Ship, are the same as the Seams between her Planks. c 1850 Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 140 Rends, large open splits or shakes in timber..by its being exposed to the wind and sun. |
▪ II. rend, v.1
(rɛnd)
pa. tense and pa. pple. rent. Forms: 1 rendan (hrendan), 3–4 renden, 4–5 rende, (4 reende, 5 -yn, reynd), 6– rend. pa. tense 3 rend(d)e, 3–6 rente, 4– rent. pa. pple. 3 i-rend, 6–7, 9 rended; 5–6 rente, 4– rent. See also rent v.
[OE. rendan = OFris. renda, randa (mod.Fris. renne, ranne), not represented in the other Teut. languages.]
1. trans. a. To tear, to pull violently or by main force, off, out of, or from a thing or place; to tear off or away.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Mark xi. 8 Oðero..ða twiggo..ᵹebuᵹun vel rendon of ðæm trewum. a 1225 Ancr. R. 148 Heo haueð bipiled mine figer—irend of al þe rinde. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1332 Syþen rytte þay þe foure lymmes, & rent of þe hyde. c 1386 Chaucer Wife's Prol. 635 He smoot me ones..For þat I rente out of his book a leef. c 1400 Destr. Troy 8518 Þen Andromaca for dol..rent of hir clothis. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 123 Not rend [1580 rent] off, but cut off, ripe beane with a knife. 1596 Spenser F.Q. v. v. 6 As if she had intended Out of his breast the very heart have rended. a 1661 Fuller Worthies (1840) III. 94 Being so rudely rent off, it hath..defaced his monument. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 455 The Rocks are from their old Foundations rent. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) I. 27 He..began to cut and rip and rend away the lacings of his suit. 1807 Wordsw. White Doe i. 124 Altar, whence the cross was rent. 1863 Hawthorne Our Old Home (1879) 362, I seemed to rend away and fling off the habit of a lifetime. |
| fig. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, i. ii. 93 We must not rend our Subiects from our Lawes, and sticke them in our Will. |
b. To take forcibly away from a person.
| 1611 Bible 1 Kings xi. 11, I wil surely rend the kingdome from thee. 1632 Lithgow Trav. ix. 394 This Kingdome after it was rent from the Romanes, remained in subiection vnder the French. a 1720 Sewel Hist. Quakers (1795) I. iv. 341 So shall thy government be rent from thee and thy house. |
c. to rap (or rive) and rend: see rap v.3 1 b and rive v.
2. To tear, wrench, drag up or down.
| a 1225 Leg. Kath. 2152 [He bade] þurhdriuen hire tittes Wið irnene neiles, & renden ham up.. wið þe breoste roten. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 132 He wan the Citee..And rente adoun bothe wall and sparre and rafter. c 1400 Destr. Troy 12511 Cut down [were] þere sailes, Ropis al to rochit, rent vp the hacches. c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) iii. 1083 Þe fowle wedes and wycys, I reynd vp be þe rote. 1513 Douglas æneis ii. viii. 16 Troianis agane, schaipand defence to mak, Rent turrettis doun. 1650 Fuller Pisgah ii. 56 God rent them up by the roots in the days of Pekah. 1733 Budgell Bee IV. 437 Whose daring Sons, by wild Ambition driv'n, Rent up the Hills, and lifted Earth to Heav'n. |
3. To tear apart (asunder) or in pieces.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke xiii. 7 Hrendas vel scearfað..hia [Rushw. ceorfas vel rendas; L. succidite illam]. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 5871 Lute vuel þoȝte he, þo me is wombe rende. a 1300 K. Horn 727 Þe fiss þat þi net rente. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. C. 527 For he þat is to rakel to renden his cloþez, Mot efte sitte..to sewe hem togeder. c 1350 Will. Palerne 1851 Þe werwolf..went to him euene, wiþ a rude roring as he him rende wold. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 646 Cleopatra, He rent [= rendeth] the seyl with hokys lyk a sithe. c 1420 Anturs of Arth. 317 For him þat rewfully rase, and rente was one rude. c 1450 Merlin 26 Than Vortiger..made hem to be rente and drawen a-sonder. 1535 Coverdale 1 Sam. xv. 27 He gat him by y⊇ edge of his garment & rente it. 1591 Spenser M. Hubberd 1370 Upon those gates..he fiercely flewe, And, rending them in pieces [etc.]. 1645 Howell Twelve Treat. (1661) 331 The graue Venerable Bishop..fetcht such a sigh, that would haue rended a rock asunder. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 422 She tears the Harness, and she rends the Rein. 1720 Pope Iliad xvii. 363 The Telamonian lance his belly rends. 1784 Cowper Task vi. 411 Through generous scorn To rend a victim trembling at his foot. 1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk. I. 17 At times the black volume of clouds over head seemed rent asunder by flashes of lightning. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. vi. 42 The glacier..is rent by deep fissures. 1872 Morley Voltaire (1886) 7 A banner that was many a time rent but was never out of the field. |
b. To tear (one's clothes or hair) in token of rage, grief, horror, or despair.
| a 1225 Juliana 70 Þa þe reue iseh þis, he rende his claðes. c 1330 King of Tars 99 Whon the soudan this iherde..His robe he rente adoun. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 870 Thisbe, Who koude write..how hire heere she rente. c 1450 Merlin 195 Than a squyer that saugh hym..com cryinge and betynge his hondes to-geder, and rendinge his heer. a 1591 H. Smith Wks. (1867) II. 65 The man of Benjamin came..with his clothes rent, and dust upon his head, in token of heaviness. 1730 Young Par. Job 17 His friends..In anguish of their hearts their mantles rent. 1769 Sir W. Jones Palace Fortune Poems (1777) 29 She rends her silken robes, and golden hair. a 1839 Praed Poems (1864) II. 308 Lo, they will weep, and rend their hair. |
c. To wear out (clothes) by tearing. rare—1.
| 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. ii. v. 5 Thou shalt not gurmandize..And sleepe, and snore, and rend apparrell out. |
d. techn. To make (laths) by cleaving wood along the grain into thin strips; also, to strip (trees) of bark.
| 1688 [Implied in lath-render]. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 612 The following is the method of rending or splitting laths. 1859 T. L. Donaldson Handbk. Specifications 137 The laths are to be rended out of the best..fir timber. 1893 Baring-Gould Curgenven xiv, The stools of coppice..were of some five years' growth since last ‘rended’ for bark. |
4. To tear apart or in pieces, in fig. applications; in later use, esp. to split into parties or factions.
| c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 441 Fals men multiplien mony bokes of þe Chirche, nowe reendynge byleve, and nowe clowtyng heresies. 1531 Elyot Gov. iii. xxii, He therfore was rente with curses and rebukes of the people. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. v. iv. 47 For whose deare sake, thou didst then rend thy faith Into a thousand oathes. 1610 Donne Pseudo-martyr 285 Hereupon arose such a schisme, as rent that country into very many parts. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 309 The Commons live, by no Divisions rent. a 1715 Burnet Own Time ii. (1724) I. 274 He saw both Church and State were rent. 1757 Burke Abridgm. Eng. Hist. Wks. X. 421 Popes and anti-popes arose. Europe was rent asunder by these disputes. 1838 Prescott Ferd. & Is. (1846) I. v. 246 Navarre..still continued to be rent with those sanguinary feuds. 1876 Holland Sev. Oaks xiv. 195 While men are about to rend each others reputations. |
b. Used to denote the effect of sounds, esp. loud noises, on the air.
| 1602 Shakes. Ham. ii. ii. 509 Anon the dreadfull Thunder Doth rend the region. 1667 Milton P.L. xii. 182 Thunder mixt with Haile..must rend th' Egyptian Skie. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 557 Then, thrice the Ravens rend the liquid Air. 1738 Gray Propertius iii. 47 While the vaulted Skies loud Ios rend. 1844 Thirlwall Greece lxiv. VIII. 318 A shout of joy rent the air. |
c. To lacerate (the heart, soul, etc.) with painful feelings.
| a 1591 H. Smith Serm. (1637) 614 His heart is not rent, his mind is not troubled. 1666 Bunyan Grace Ab. §104 That Scripture did also tear and rend my soul. 1766 Goldsm. Hermit xl, The sigh that rends thy constant heart Shall break thy Edwin's too. 1877 ‘Rita’ Vivienne iii. vii, His strong frame rent and shaken by a storm of emotion. 1891 E. Peacock N. Brendon II. 87 Her heart was rent by contending emotions. |
5. absol. To tear; to act by tearing.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3506 Ne slo ðu nogt wið hond ne wil, Ne rend, ne beat nogt wið vn-skil. 1388 Wyclif Jer. xv. 3 A swerd to sleeynge, and doggis for to reende. c 1400 Destr. Troy 10209 He hurlit of helmys, hedis within, Rent thurgh ribbis. 1607 Shakes. Cor. iii. i. 248 Whose Rage doth rend Like interrupted Waters. 1641 Milton Ch. Govt. i. vi. Wks. 1851 III. 122 If schisme parted the congregations before, now it rent and mangl'd. 1818 Shelley Julian 357 The dagger heals not, but may rend again. 1876 Blackie Songs Relig. & Life 240 Never cast your pearls to swine, Who turn, and rend and trample. |
6. intr. To burst, split, break, or tear. Also fig.
| c 1205 Lay. 7849 Scipen gunnen helden, bosmes þer rendden, water in wende. c 1470 Golagros & Gaw. 691 Ryngis of rank steill rattillit and rent. 1578 T. Proctor Gorg. Gallery B iij, I should..heale that hart that rendes. 1589 R. Harvey Pl. Perc. (1590) 25 My shoe shall rend. 1611 Bible 1 Sam. xv. 27 He laid hold vpon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. 1632 Lithgow Trav. vi. 268 The Rocke, which (as they say) rent at his crucifying. 1705 Hickeringill Priest-cr. i. Wks. 1716 III. 59 Samuel's Cassock, made of rotten black Cloath, perhaps, or else it would not have rent. 1762 Falconer Shipwr. ii. 245 The mizen rending from the bolt⁓rope flew. 1830 W. Taylor Hist. Surv. Germ. Poetry I. 277 The veil of the temple rends; an earthquake is felt. 1840 Lyell Princ. Geol. II. ii. vii. 79 The walls of tenements rending and sinking, until a deep chasm..was formed. |
Hence ˈrended ppl. a.1, torn, rent.
| 1856 R. A. Vaughan Mystics (1860) I. 116 Bernard had farther the satisfaction..of sewing together..the rended vesture of the papacy. 1872 Yeats Techn. Hist. Comm. 305 Straw for plaiting has recently been supplemented..by the rended leaves of palms. |
▪ III. rend, v.2 Obs. exc. dial.
[f. rend-, stem of F. rendre render v. 17 a: cf. rand v.4 and rind v.]
trans. To melt; to produce by melting. Hence ˈrended ppl. a.2
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter cv. 19 Þe kalfe þai rendid, þe ydol þai made. 1558 Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees 1835) 167, ij great cakes of rended tallowe xxxiijs. iiijd. 1641 Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 30 In makinge of your salve, yow are first to rende or melte your tallowe in a panne. |