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Where does the word "rift" come from? It comes from Old Norse ript, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).
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Where does the word "rift" come from? It comes from Old Norse ript, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).
Rift’s story begins in Old Norse: ript meant “a breach, a tear.” A breach, a tearing apart. It reached English by 1300s as rift. Settled as the English word for a split or break. Today, rift means a split or break, either literal or a break in a relationship.
- Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval ript "a breach, a tear", a breach, a tearing apart.
- Stage 2 · English · 1300s rift "a split or break, literal or figurative", settled as the English word for a split or break.