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definitions

sunder

[ suhn-der ]
/ ˈsʌn dər /
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verb (used with object)

to separate; part; divide; sever.

verb (used without object)

to become separated; part.

RELATED WORDS

slice, disconnect, divide, disjoin, undo, break, uncouple, part, split, detach, rend

Nearby words

  1. sunday school,
  2. sunday supplement,
  3. sunday, billy,
  4. sunday-go-to-meeting,
  5. sundays,
  6. sunderland,
  7. sundew,
  8. sundial,
  9. sundog,
  10. sundown

Origin of sunder

before 900; Middle English sundren, Old English sundrian; cognate with German sondern, Old Norse sundra; see sundry
Related formssun·der·a·ble, adjectivesun·der·ance, nounsun·der·er, nounun·sun·dered, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sunder

British Dictionary definitions for sunder

sunder

/ (ˈsʌndə) archaic, or literary /

verb

to break or cause to break apart or in pieces

noun

in sunder into pieces; apart
Derived Formssunderable, adjectivesunderance, nounsunderer, noun

Word Origin for sunder

Old English sundrian; related to Old Norse sundr asunder, Gothic sundrō apart, Old High German suntar, Latin sine without
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 sunder

sunder

v.

Old English sundrian, from sundor "separately, apart," from Proto-Germanic *sunder (cf. Old Norse sundr, Old Frisian sunder, Old High German suntar "aside, apart"), from PIE root *sen(e)- denoting "separation" (cf. Sanskrit sanutar "far away," Avestan hanare "without," Greek ater "without," Latin sine "without," Old Church Slavonic svene "without," Old Irish sain "different"). Related: Sundered; sundering.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper