*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of reave

From Middle English reven, from Old English rēafian, from Proto-West Germanic *raubōn. Germanic cognates include West Frisian rave, Old English rēaf (“spoils, booty”)), and Old English past participle rofen (“torn, broke

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
verb

To plunder, pillage, rob, pirate, or remove. · To deprive (a person) of something through theft or violence.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English reven, from Old English rēafian, from Proto-West Germanic *raubōn. Germanic cognates include West Frisian rave, Old English rēaf (“spoils, booty”)), and Old English past participle rofen (“torn, broken”), Norwegian rjuva, German rauben, Danish røve, and Swedish röva. Outside of Germanic, related to Latin rumpō (“to break”), Lithuanian rùpti (“to roughen”), Sanskrit रोपयति (ropayati, “to make suffer”)). See rob and reif.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*Hrewp-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "reven"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English reven"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "rēafian"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English rēafian"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*raubōn"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *raubōn"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "rave"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian rave"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "rēaf",
        "3": "",
        "4": "spoils, booty"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English rēaf (“spoils, booty”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "no",
        "2": "rjuva"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian rjuva"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "rauben"
      },
      "expansion": "German rauben"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "røve"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish røve"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "röva"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish röva"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "rumpō",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to break"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin rumpō (“to break”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lt",
        "2": "rùpti",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to roughen"
      },
      "expansion": "Lithuanian rùpti (“to roughen”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sa",
        "2": "रोपयति",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to make suffer"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit रोपयति (ropayati, “to make suffer”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "reven",
      "reven#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "rēafian",
      "reafian#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*raubōn",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/raubōn"
    ],
    [
      "rave",
      "rave#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "rēaf",
      "reaf#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "rofen",
      "rofen#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "rjuva",
      "rjuva#Norwegian"
    ],
    [
      "rauben",
      "rauben#German"
    ],
    [
      "røve",
      "røve#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "röva",
      "röva#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "rumpō",
      "rumpo#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "rùpti",
      "rupti#Lithuanian"
    ],
    [
      "रोपयति",
      "रोपयति#Sanskrit"
    ],
    [
      "rob",
      "rob#English"
    ],
    [
      "reif",
      "reif#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To plunder, pillage, rob, pirate, or remove.",
        "To deprive (a person) of something through theft or violence."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic"
      ],
      "recordId": "58e3adac86b07a4c11f0575899480dcbaceebfc5e522ccd7b74b424de0c611a5",
      "rawRecordSha256": "c83a42f93c8b01ef5285713d051dc698d220461a3491e3a7ba6ff3040b77a054",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 197636
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To split, tear, break apart.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Alteration of rive by confusion with the above.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "rive",
      "rive#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To split, tear, break apart."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic"
      ],
      "recordId": "a9e6d5da178701eae6ddc376c502c9d1ae291799df72c2a5438e99ebd65aec82",
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 197637
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for reave →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-cmVhdmU