reave
1[reev]
- to take away by or as by force; plunder; rob.
Show More
Origin of reave
1before 900; Middle English reven, Old English rēafian; cognate with German rauben, Dutch roven to rob
reave
2[reev]
- Archaic. to rend; break; tear.
Show More
Origin of reave
2Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for reave
Historical Examples of reave
I am doing what I can to reave the heavens of these monsters.
The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 7 (of 12)Robert G. Ingersoll
But they try to reave from God, His part, who would be praised of men for good deeds.
The Form of Perfect Living and Other Prose TreatisesRichard Rolle of Hampole
Not forty Van Hupfeldts nor a legion of ghosts should reave him of those telling pieces of evidence!
The Late TenantLouis Tracy
reave
1- to carry off (property, prisoners, etc) by force
- (tr foll by of) to deprive; stripSee also reive
Show More
Word Origin for reave
Old English reāfian; related to Old High German roubōn to rob, Old Norse raufa to break open
reave
2- archaic to break or tear (something) apart; cleave
Show More
Word Origin for reave
C13 reven, probably from reave 1 and influenced in meaning by rive
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for reave
Old English reafian "to rob (something from someone), plunder, pillage," from Proto-Germanic *raubjon (cf. Old Frisian ravia, Middle Dutch roven, Dutch rooven, Old High German roubon, German rauben), from PIE *reup- "to snatch" (see rip (v.)). Related: Reaved; reaving.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper