v.
(past and past part. rent)
literary - tear to pieces.
▸archaic wrench violently.
- cause great distress to.
Phrase
- rend the air
sound piercingly. - rend one's garments
(or hair)
tear one's clothes (or pull one's hair out) as a sign of extreme grief of distress.
Etymology
OE rendan, rel. to Mid. Low Ger. rende.