reave

¹ American  

[reev] / riv /

verb (used with object)

Archaic.

reaved, reft, reaving

1. to take away by or as by force; plunder; rob.

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reave ² American  

[reev] / riv /

verb (used with or without object)

reaved, reft, reaving

1. Archaic. to rend; break; tear.

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reave ¹ British  

/ riːv /

verb

1. to carry off (property, prisoners, etc) by force

2. to deprive; strip See also reive

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reave ² British  

/ riːv /

verb

1. archaic to break or tear (something) apart; cleave

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Etymology

Origin of reave¹

before 900; Middle English reven, Old English rēafian; cognate with German rauben, Dutch roven to rob

Origin of reave²

1175–1225; Middle English; apparently special use of reave ¹ (by association with rive )

Example Sentences

With the Hundred Years' War against England came soldiers reaving and burning through the countryside, while the Black Death followed swiftly thereafter, striking Burgundy in 1348 and again, with even greater severity, in 1360.

From Salon

Like that time Gregor Clegane went reaving through the countryside before the war even started: It isn’t crazy to think millions died over the years.

From The Verge

Next week, the season finale: reaving, roving, and raiding.

From The New Yorker

Was the sequel originally going to be a prequel about Bala-Tik and the Guavian Death Gang’s early years of reaving in the outer rim territories?

From The Guardian

"You were no priest when I was taken from Pyke.. I remember how you would sing the old reaving songs standing on the table with a horn of ale in hand."

From Literature