Sunder
/ˈsʌn.dər/noun
To split apart or sever; to separate completely.
Did you know?Sunder comes from an ancient Germanic root meaning “apart” or “asunder,” and it survives in the old ritual-sounding phrase “asunder,” which still feels like a spell of separation.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*se-
“to cut apart, divide”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*sundrō
“apart, separately”
Old English
OE
syndrian
“to separate, part, divide”
Middle English
ME
sundren
“to split apart, sever”
Modern English
English
sunder
“to split or divide into parts”