Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Rive \Rive\, v. t. [imp. {Rived}; p. p. {Rived} or {Riven}; p.
   pr. & vb. n. {Riving}.] [Icel. r[=i]fa, akin to Sw. rifva to
   pull asunder, burst, tear, Dan. rive to rake, pluck, tear.
   Cf. {Reef} of land, {Rifle} a gun, {Rift}, {Rivel}.]
   To rend asunder by force; to split; to cleave; as, to rive
   timber for rails or shingles.

         I shall ryve him through the sides twain. --Chaucer.

         The scolding winds have rived the knotty oaks. --Shak.

         Brutus hath rived my heart.              --Shak.

Rive \Rive\, v. i.
   To be split or rent asunder.

         Freestone rives, splits, and breaks in any direction.
                                                  --Woodward.

Rive \Rive\, n.
   A place torn; a rent; a rift. [Prov. Eng.]

Source : WordNet®

rive
     v 1: tear or be torn violently; "The curtain ripped from top to
          bottom"; "pull the cooked chicken into strips" [syn: {rend},
           {rip}, {pull}]
     2: separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument;
        "cleave the bone" [syn: {cleave}, {split}]
     [also: {riven}]