Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Definition: Tear |
TearNoun1. A drop of the clear salty saline solution secreted by the lacrimal glands; "his story brought tears to her eyes". 2. An opening made forcibly as by pulling apart; "there was a rip in his pants". 3. An occasion for excessive eating or drinking; "they went on a bust that lasted three days". 4. The act of tearing; "he took the manuscript in both hands and gave it a mighty tear". Verb1. Separate or cause to separate abruptly; "The rope snapped"; "tear the paper". 2. To separate or be separated by force: "planks were in danger of being torn from the crossbars.". 3. Move quickly and violently; "The car tore down the street"; "He came charging into my office". 4. Strip of feathers; "pull a chicken"; "pluck the capon". 5. Move precipitously or violently; "The tornado ripped along the coast". 6. Fill with tears or shed tears; "Her eyes were tearing". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "tear" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references) |
Note: Tear \Tear\ (t[^a]r), transitive verb. [imperfect Tore(t[=o]r), ((Obsolete Tare) (t[^a]r); past participle Torn(t[=o]rn); Tearing.]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Industry | The ratio of top to noil, produced in combing. Source: European Union. (references) |
| Surface crack caused by premature or too abrupt removal of the article from the mould. Source: European Union. (references) | |
| Place where a small fragment of glass has been torn out by sticking to the metal(N. B. :tear is sometimes used to mean an open check. This use is not recommended). Source: European Union. (references) | |
Medicine | The salty, slightly alkaline, clear, watery fluid secreted by the lacrimal gland. . Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
TEAR | English | The Evangelical Alliance Relief Fund | Finance, Religion & Philosophy |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: TearSynonyms: binge (n), bout (n), bust (n), rent (n), rip (n), split (n), teardrop (n), buck (v), charge (v), deplumate (v), deplume (v), displume (v), pluck (v), pull (v), rupture (v), shoot (v), shoot down (v), snap (v). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Amusement | Festivity, merrymaking; party; (social gathering); blowout, hullabaloo, hoedown, bat, bum, bust, clambake, donation party, fish fry, jamboree, kantikoy, nautch, randy, squantum, tear, Turnerfest, yule log; fete, festival, gala, ridotto; revels, revelry, reveling; carnival, brawl, saturnalia, high jinks; feast, banquet; (food); regale, symposium, wassail; carouse, carousal; jollification, junket, wake, Irish wake, picnic, fete champetre, regatta, field day; treat. |
Disjunction | Sunder, divide, subdivide, sever, dissever, abscind; circumcise; cut; incide, incise; saw, snip, nib, nip, cleave, rive, rend, slit, split, splinter, chip, crack, snap, break, tear, burst; rend; rend asunder, rend in twain; wrench, rupture, shiver, cranch, crunch, craunch, chop; cut up, rip up; hack, hew, slash; whittle; haggle, hackle, discind, lacerate, scamble, mangle, gash, hash, slice. |
Excitability | Lose one's temper; break out, burst out, fly out; go off, fly off, fly off at a tangent, fly off the handle, lose one's cool; explode, flare up, flame up, fire up, burst into a flame, take fire, fire, burn; boil, boil over; foam, fume, rage, rave, rant, tear; go wild, run wild, run mad, go into hysterics; run riot, run amuck; battre la campagne, faire le diable a quatre, play the deuce. |
Velocity | Verb: move quickly, trip, fisk; speed, hie, hasten, post, spank, scuttle; scud, scuddle; scour, scour the plain; scamper; run like mad, beat it; fly, race, run a race, cut away, shot, tear, whisk, zoom, swoosh, sweep, skim, brush; cut along, bowl along, barrel along, barrel; scorch, burn up the track; rush; (be violent); dash on, dash off, dash forward; bolt; trot, gallop, amble, troll, bound, flit, spring, dart, boom; march in quick time, march in double time; ride hard, get over the ground. |
Violence | Verb: be -violent; Adjective: run high; ferment, effervesce; romp, rampage, go on a rampage; run wild, run amuck, run riot; break the peace; rush, tear; rush headlong, rush foremost; raise a storm, make a riot; rough house; riot, storm; wreak, bear down, ride roughshod, out Herod, Herod; spread like wildfire. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Farewell, Ethel Barrymore, I must tear myself from your side (Singin' in the Rain; writing credit: Betty Comden; Adolph Green) We're gonna tear your head off (Signs; writing credit: M. Night Shyamalan) They put it on the bill, I tear up the bill (Casablanca; writing credit: Murray Burnett; Joan Alison) Fezzik, tear his arms off. (The Princess Bride; writing credit: William Goldman) Crepe paper is a bitch to tear. (Making Love; writing credit: A. Scott Berg; Barry Sandler) | |
Lyrics | And they could never tear us apart (Never Tear Us Apart; performing artist: INXS) Don`t shed a tear for me (Don't Shed A Tear; performing artist: Paul Carrack) Before you tear us apart (Quit Playing Games; performing artist: Backstreet Boys) I won't cry, I won't cry, no I won't shed a tear ("Stand By Me"; performing artist: Ben E. King) And go straight to the mall, and tear down the (Still Fly; performing artist: Big Tymers) | |
Clever | A tear shed can say more than a hundred words spoken. (references; author: unknown) We often see further through a tear than through a telescope. (references; author: unknown) Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends with a tear. (references; author: unknown) A good friend see the first tear, catches the second, and stops the third. (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Tear Gas Squad (1940) Each Pearl a Tear (1916) The Tear That Burned (1914) Tear It Down (1997) | |
Song Titles | Never Tear Us Apart (performing artist: INXS) TEAR THE ROOF OFF THE SUCKER (performing artist: PARLIAMENT) Don't Shed A Tear (performing artist: Paul Carrack) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books | |||
Periodicals |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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High Tech |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
![]() | Cocaine : Will Tear You Apart. Credit: National Library of Medicine. | ![]() | President Nixon and George Meany divided by jagged tear in the paper. Credit: Library of Congress. |
![]() | I'll join up if you tear it down. Credit: Library of Congress. | ![]() | Salinas lettuce strike, tear gasing [sic], 1936. Credit: Library of Congress. |
![]() | New York, New York. Wire room of the New York Times newspaper. Copy boy about to tear off dispatch coming over Associated Press. Credit: Library of Congress. | ![]() | Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland. Gas demonstration. Soldiers in gas chamber filled with tear gas. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Play | Caption |
| Tear; rip; shred; cut; slit. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Arthur Schopenhauer | Vengeance taken will often tear the heart and torment the conscience. |
Cowper | The tear that is wiped with a little address may be followed, perhaps, by a smile. |
Horace | Tear thyself from delay. |
Johann G. Seume | Tear man out of his outward circumstances; and what he then is; that only is he. |
Lord Byron | The dew of compassion is a tear. |
| Smiles form the channel of a future tear. | |
| Oh! too convincing -- dangerously dear -- In woman's eye the unanswerable tear! | |
| The drying up a single tear has more of honest fame, than shedding seas of gore. | |
Marcus T. Cicero | A tear dries quickly when it is shed for troubles of others. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | The eye was glazed, but the tear was not dry. |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | It was not enough to lull the conscience with a tear and a prayer |
Brighton Beach Memoirs | Neil Simon | You had a hole in your pocket. You can tear a hole in your pocket |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | Tear in and shove the croppers out. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Do not cut or tear the cuticles of your nails. (references) | |
Like any other organ, skin is subject to wear and tear, injury, and aging. (references) | ||
Esophageal bleeding can be caused by Mallory-Weiss syndrome, a tear in the lining of the esophagus. (references) | ||
Business | Growing domestic and overseas demand for timber and lumber, and lack of equipment and wear and tear of existing equipment, provide obvious commercial opportunities to exporters. (references) | |
Security equipment for personal protection such as guns, bulletproof vests, tear gas spray, and equipment for car protection such as tracking devices (GPS), as well as alarms and fuel-blocking systems are also in high demand. (references) | ||
Civil Liberties | Panama | When protests turned violent, police responded with tear gas. (references) |
Burkina Faso | In August 2000, police used tear gas to disperse demonstrating refugees. (references) | |
Zimbabwe | Police reportedly beat and used tear gas on the supporters and arrested one MDC supporter. (references) | |
Human Rights | Pakistan | Later that month, police used batons and deployed tear gas during a rally of businessmen. (references) |
Jamaica | Although no one was hit by gunfire, a baby was taken to the hospital after inhaling tear gas. (references) | |
Ghana | Some police officers gave contradictory testimony regarding the use of tear gas at the stadium. (references) | |
Political Economy | Sudan | Police fired at the protesters and used tear gas, live ammunition, grenades, canes and batons to disperse them. (references) |
Sudan | There was no further investigation or action taken in the following cases in 2000: The unconfirmed November PDF attacks on the village of Guong Nowh, in which several persons were killed; the November NDA attack on Kassala in which 52 civilians and soldiers were killed during fighting between government and NDA troops; the September incident in which security forces in several cities in the north used tear gas and live ammunition to forcibly disperse some demonstrations and killed several persons; the June attack by government air and ground forces in the vicinity of a Catholic mission which reportedly resulted in the deaths of 32 persons, including of women and children; and the February reported PDF attack on several villages in eastern Aweil and Twic counties, northern Bahr El Ghazal, during which 156 civilians were killed. (references) | |
Trade | Uk | Prohibited imports include AM citizens band radios, switchblade knives, devices that project toxic, noxious or harmful substances (e.g., tear gas), counterfeit coins and currency, and certain types of pornography. (references) |
Worker Rights | Djibouti | Police used tear gas and clubs to break up the strike. (references) |
Ecuador | On July 26, police blocked a protest strike by health workers using tear gas. (references) | |
Brazil | Although police said that they used only tear gas and rubber bullets, live ammunition was found in Ferreira's body. (references) | |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | PRICE, n. Value, plus a reasonable sum for the wear and tear of conscience in demanding it. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Rush Limbaugh | If I were a citizen of a country that had been around thousands of years, and was still basically a sand pit, when I looked at America, I would want to come here, not to tear this country down. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Grover Cleveland | 1885-1889; 1893-1897 | When we tear aside the delusions and misconceptions which have blinded our countrymen to their condition under vicious tariff laws, we but show them how far they have been led away from the paths of contentment and prosperity. |
Ronald Reagan | 1981-1989 | The time has come for a new American emancipation--a great national drive to tear down economic barriers and liberate the spirit of enterprise in the most distressed areas of our country. |
Bill Clinton | 1993-2001 | We must tear down barriers, open markets, and expand trade. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Tear" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 52.27% of the time. "Tear" is used about 1,034 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 52.27% | 540 | 11,434 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 43% | 445 | 13,012 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 4.64% | 48 | 49,194 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.1% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 1,034 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "tear" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| Tear | Last name | 170 | 49,083 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
| The following table summarizes names derived from the word "tear". | |||
| Name | Gender | Language | Meaning |
| Cherethims | N/A | Biblical | Who cut or tear away |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references.
| |||
Expressions using "tear": a stuff able to stand wear and tear ♦ a telltale tear ♦ dash away a tear ♦ glass tear ♦ hot tear ♦ Mallory-Weiss Tear ♦ shed a tear ♦ tear a hole in a cloth ♦ tear a muscle ♦ tear a paper ♦ tear about ♦ tear along ♦ tear an argument to shreds ♦ tear apart ♦ tear around ♦ tear asunder ♦ tear at ♦ tear away ♦ tear bomb ♦ tear down ♦ tear down a building ♦ tear down an engine ♦ tear drop ♦ tear duct ♦ tear from ♦ tear gas ♦ Tear Gases ♦ tear gland ♦ tear in half ♦ tear in two ♦ tear into ♦ tear into a room ♦ tear jerker ♦ tear limb from limb ♦ tear loose ♦ tear of the perineum ♦ tear off ♦ tear off a strip ♦ tear one's hair ♦ tear oneself away ♦ tear open ♦ tear out ♦ tear out one's hair ♦ tear sac ♦ tear shedding ♦ tear sheet ♦ tear slightly ♦ tear smoke ♦ tear smth. open ♦ tear smth. to ribbons ♦ tear stained ♦ tear test ♦ tear to pieces ♦ tear to rags ♦ tear to ribbons ♦ tear to shreds ♦ tear to tatters ♦ tear up ♦ To tear a cat ♦ To tear down ♦ To tear off ♦ To tear out ♦ To tear up ♦ Wear and tear ♦ wipe away a tear. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "tear": tear-away, tear-blob, tear-bright, tear-brimmed, tear-dampened, tear-down, tear-drenched, tear-drop, tear-drops, tear-duct, tear-ducts, tear-exciting, Tear-falling, tear-filled, tear-gas, tear-gassed, tear-gassing, tear-gland, tear-glazed, tear-inducing, tear-in-her-eye, tear-in-my-beer, tear-jerk, tear-jerker, tear-jerking, tear-laden, tear-me-open, tear-off, tear-off part, tear-out, tear-reddened, tear-resistant, tear-shell, tear-smudged, tear-stained, tear-stains, tear-streaked, tear-swollen, Tear-thumb, tear-tracked. | |
Ending with "tear": air-tear, non-tear, rip-and-tear, wear-and-tear. | |
Containing "tear": easy-to-tear-off, wear-and-tear-proof. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
tear | 192 | retinal tear | 21 |
rotator cuff tear | 119 | apart love tear us will | 20 |
tear gas | 97 | amber drop necklace open tear | 20 |
side tear check | 94 | andromeda does tear | 19 |
tear drop trailer | 68 | side tear personal check | 18 |
blocked tear duct | 62 | tear drop putter | 18 |
meniscus tear | 58 | miniscus tear | 16 |
tear drop | 56 | side tear checkbook cover | 16 |
duct tear | 49 | a little bitty tear | 16 |
acl tear | 44 | hamstring tear | 15 |
annular tear | 43 | hip labral tear | 15 |
muscle tear | 41 | achilles tendon tear | 14 |
labral tear | 34 | tear bottle | 14 |
tear away | 33 | tear jerkers | 14 |
sun tear | 31 | mallory weiss tear | 13 |
clogged duct tear | 29 | normal tear wear | 13 |
medial meniscus tear | 27 | tear mender | 13 |
labrum tear | 25 | drop tattoo tear | 12 |
tear da club up thug | 24 | ring saga tear | 12 |
meniscal tear | 23 | lateral meniscus tear | 11 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "tear"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | traan. (various references) | |
Albanian | përçaj (disrupt, disunite, divide), gërric (rip, scatter, scrabble, scratch, shatter, slit), gërryej (be corroded, be eroded, cave, chew, corrode, dredge, erode, gouge, hollow out, honeycomb, rasp, scoop out, scuff, tear to pieces), gërvisht (bark, clank, clapperclaw, claw, graze, jingle, lacerate, Nick, scarify, scrabble, scratch, strum), gris (clip, rend, rent, rip, rip up, shred, slit, split, torn), grisje (laceration, rent, rip, slit, tore), largoj me zor, çaj (break, char, cleave, cut, dissect, fissure, forge, impale, open, pink, puncture, push through, slash, slit, split, tea, worm), lotsjellës (lachrymatory), vrull (Ardor, ardour, burst, career, dash, drive, driving force, elan, flush, furor, fury, ginger, impetuosity, impetus, momentum, pelt, pep, pith, raciness, rage, reach, spasm, spurt, tearing, thrust, vehemence, verve, vigor, vigour, vim, violence, zest, zip), pikëz (drop, droplet, pinpoint), shkëput (abstract, detach, disengage, disjoin, disjoint, dissociate, distract, disunite, extract, rip off, tear off, tear up, uncouple, unfix, unhook, unstrap), shkul (deracinate, drag out, extort, extract, grub, hank, jerk, pluck, pull, pull out, rip out, root up, skein, tear down, tweak, wring, yank), shqyej (disjoint, dismember, lacerate, pull, rend, rip, rip out, rip up), vend i grisur, vrimë (aperture, bore, dump, ear, excavation, eye, eyehole, eyelet, gap, hole, leak, mesh, mortise, mouth, notch, notching, nozzle, open, opening, orifice, Peck, perforation, pinhole, prick, puncture, recession, rent, shell-hole, slit, slot, vent, venthole), lot (dew, teardrop, water-drop, weeping). (various references) | |
Arabic | إنتزع (conquer, draw, exact, extort, extract, get smth. off one's hands, grab, snatch, swagger, tear out, twitch, wrest, wring, yank), دمع, دمعة (teardrop), شق (chap, check, chink, cleavage, cleave, cleft, crack, cranny, crash, crevasse, crevice, cut, excavate, fissure, flaw, fracture, hew, hole, incise, incision, jag, loophole, lump, nick, open, overture, part, rift, rip, rive, slash, slit, slot, snag, snip, spiracle, splinter, split, spring, twist), ثقب (aperture, bore, broach, drill, hole, hull, orifice, peck, perforate, perforation, pick holes in smth., pierce, prick, prickle, punch, puncture, vent), إقتلع (displace, extirpate, extract, lift, plow, pluck, pull, root, take off, tear out, weed out), بكى من الفرح, إندفع بسرعة (plunge), مزق حزنا, تمزق (laceration, part, rend, rive, rupture, split, tearing), قطع (amputate, amputation, ax, axe, break, cease, cessation, chop off, chopping off, cross, crossing, cut, cut across, cut away, cut down, cut off, cut out, cutoff, cutting off, disconnect, discontinuance, discontinue, divide, dividing, end, exchange, fell, felling, forbid, halt, hew, hinder from, interrupt, intersect, lop, prevent from, scission, section, segment, segmentation, separate, sever, severance, slit, split, stop, sunder, suspend, suspension, terminate, traverse), قطع الى قطع صغيرة (small, tear to shreds), نهش (snap), هدم (blight, demolish, demolition, destroy, destruction, do away with, level, pluck, pull down, sap, smash, take apart, tear down, total), مزق (cut up, disrupt, fracture, jag, lacerate, pull apart, pull to pieces, quarter, rend, rent, rip, rip apart, rive, rupture, sever, shred, tatter, tear to pieces, tear up, unrip, unseam), إندفاع (break, burst, dash, dive, drift, fling, impulse, impulsion, impulsiveness, lunge, onrush, prod, raciness, rush, scramble, surge). (various references) | |
Basque | malko. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | късам се, дупка (cavity, chamber, delve, dump, earth, gap, hole, hutch, leak, mesh, opening, perforation, pit, pore, rent, scoop, vent), летя (fly, kite, sail, spin along, tear along, wing), запиване (bust), нося се като хала (tear along), втурвам се (dart, dash, flounce in, hurl, intrude, rush, skitter, streak off, tear along), вълнение (agitation, commotion, dither, emotion, excitement, ferment, flurry, gurgitation, heartbeat, lather, nervousness, perturbation, pother, pulse, roughness, snit, stir, surge, throb, to-do, trouble, tumult, turmoil, unrest, upset), гуляй (bat, bend, bender, binge, blowout, bout, bum, carouse, drinking bout, feed, jamboree, junket, racket, randan, rant, rattle, razzle, razzle-dazzle, revel, revelry, rouse, soak, spree, wassail), дера (flay, skin), късам (pick, pull), сълза (water-drop), тичам (chase, course, go after, leg it, lick, race, run, run about, scamper about, scurry, skitter, tear along), разкъсвам (bait, dismember, lacerate, pick, pull, rend, rift, rip up, rupture, tear asunder, tear off, tear open, tear up), скъсано място (rent), скъсвам (break, fail, plough, pluck, refer, rend, rip down, rip open, rupture, sever, snap, strand, tear away, tear down, tear off, tear out, wear out), устременост, ярост (Bate, desperation, frenzy, fury, ire, madness, paddywhack, passion, rabidity, rage, rave, violence, wax), съдирам (bark, clapperclaw, jag, rend, rip, slate, split), съдрано място (rent, rip), капка (bead, dollop, dribble, dribblet, drip, drop, minim, modicum, shred, tincture, vestige). (various references) | |
Chinese | 眼淚 , 泪花 (tears), 扯 (pull, to talk casually), 捩 (twist), " (break, pierce, split, thumb, to analyze), ' . (various references) | |
Czech | trhlina (breach, chink, cleft, crack, crevasse, crevice, gap, gash, Lacuna, rent, rift, rip, rupture, snag, split), tahat (drag, pull, tote), vytrhnout (extract, get out, tear out, whisk), vyrvat (tear out), slza (drop, teardrop), roztrhnout (rift, rip, split), roztrhat (break up, lacerate, pull apart, pull to pieces, rip up, savage, sunder, tear apart, tear asunder, tear up), roztržení (disruption, rip), rozpoltit (disunite), rozervat (rip), rozdírat, natrhnout, drásat (jangle), díra (backwater, burrow, gap, hole, joint, leak, pit, puncture, rip, split, vent), škubat (lug at, pluck, tug). (various references) | |
Danish | tåre, rive itu. (various references) | |
Dutch | vaneenscheuren, scheuren (burst, rip, split), doorscheuren. (various references) | |
Esperanto | larmo, disŝiri, ŝiri (rip), ŝiraĵo. (various references) | |
Faeroese | tár, skræða (rip), royta (pick, pluck, rip). (various references) | |
Farsi | پاره کردن (Cut, Lacerate, Mangle, Rend, Rip, Shred), پارگی (Rupture), چاک دادن (Rift, Scotch, Slash, Slit, Strip, Unseam), چاک (Cut, Hack, Incision, Interstice, Rift, Rip, Scotch, Slit, Slot, Split, Suture), گسیختن (Cut, Fracture, Rupture, Snap), گسستن (Cut, Disconnect, Rupture), گریه (Cry, Greet, Sob), سرشک , دریدن (Lacerate, Rend, Rip, Slit). (various references) | |
Finnish | kyynel (droplet, tear drop), repiä (rend, rip, tear off, tear out, tear to pieces, tear up). (various references) | |
French | larme (teardrop), déchirer (tear up), pleur, déchirure (tearing). (various references) | |
Frisian | trien. (various references) | |
German | zerreißen (break, carve up, disrupt, ladder, rend, rip, rip to shreds, tear apart, tear in two, tear limb from limb, tear to pieces, tear up, to disrupt, to tear, to tear up), zerren (be draughty, drag, jerk, jolt, lug, pull, rip, shake, strain, tear at, tug), Träne (drip, teardrop), reißen (be draughty, crack, drag, draw, jerk, jolt, pull, rend, rent, rip, shake, snap, snatch, to rip, tug, wrench, yank). (various references) | |
Greek | σχίσιμο (cleavage, fission, rent, scission, slit, split, tearing), σχίζω (cleave, fist, rend, shred, skive, slash, slit, sliver, slot, splinter, split, tear up, tore, torn). (various references) | |
Hebrew | "מע" (teardrop). (various references) | |
Hungarian | könny (eyewater), szakadás (discontinuity, disruption, rent, rive, split), repedés (chop, cleft, crack, cranny, fission, fissure, flake, flaw, rictus, rift, slit, spring), könnycsepp (dew, teardrop), hasadás (breach, break, chink, cleavage, crack, cracking, fission, fissure, flaw, rive, slit, split), folyadékcsepp, csepp (diminutive, drip, drop, globule, gout, speck, spot, sup). (various references) | |
Icelandic | tár. (various references) | |
Indonesian | sobek, menyobek (detach), mencarik (rip to pieces), cabikan (snag), air mata. (various references) | |
Irish | deoir. (various references) | |
Italian | strappo (infringement, jerk, lift, pluck, pull, rip, split, sprain, strain, tug, wrench), lacrima (drop, teardrop), lacerare (lacerate, mangle, rend, rip, split). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 鉤裂き (rip), 裂け目 (crack, rent), 綻び (open seam, seam that has come apart), れ目 (rent, split), れ目 (rent, split), 劈 (break, burst, pierce, split), 捌 (break, deal with, dispose of, drain, flow off, handle, sell), 泪 , 涙 . (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | なみ , さばき (break, deal with, decision, dispose of, drain, flow off, handle, judgment, sell, tribunal, verdict), さけめ (crack, rent), ほ"ろび (open seam, seam that has come apart), かぎざき (rip), やぶれめ (rent, split), へき (bias, break, burst, crime, false, inferiority complex, law, pierce, prejudice, punish, ruler, split). (various references) | |
Korean | 눈물 (tears). (various references) | |
Malay | air-mata. (various references) | |
Manx | skelpey (tearing), rassey (cancellation; seed, demolish; tearing, rend, rending, rip, rip up, scratch, undo, undo as knitting, undoing), raipey (gore, gore of bull, lacerate, laceration; crake, laceration; crake cry, pull apart, rend, rip, savage, snatch away), jeir (lachrymal, lachrymatory, spot, teardrop). (various references) | |
Maya | hat (to tear). (various references) | |
Norwegian | tåre. (various references) | |
Occitan | lagrema. (various references) | |
Papiamen | lágrima. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | eartay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | rasgar (claw, cut up, drag out, gutter, lacerate, pull, rend, rip, rive, tatter), lágrima (bead, teardrop, water-drop, weeping), romper (breach, break, break off, break up, cut off, cut up, disconnect, disrupt, fracture, open, part, pierce, rip, run, rupture, sever, snap, splinter, split), dilacerar (bite, cut up, lacerate, rip, tousle). (various references) | |
Romanian | se destrãma (fray), rupturã (breach, break, breaking, cleavage, discontinuance, disruption, failure, hole, inrush, rag, rend, rent, rift, rip, rupture, slit), rupe (break, break off, break smth. in pieces, cull, declare off, dismember, disrupt, gather, lacerate, open, pull, pull apart, rend, rift, rip, scatter, separate, sever, snap, splinter, split, stop, uproot), lacrimã (crying, Pearl, tear drop, tears), forfeca (shred, slate), distruge (abolish, annihilate, blast, blight, confound, crash, crock, cut, cut to pieces, cut up, dash, decay, defeat, demolish, destroy, devastate, dilapidate, disrupt, eat into, eat through, eliminate, exterminate, extirpate, finish, kill, lay waste, make havoc of, Mar, obliterate, overturn, overwhelm, perish, play the deuce with, play the devil with, quash, ravage, raze, reduce, ruin, scathe, scatter, scotch, shatter, shipwreck, sink, spoil, squelch, strafe, subvert, undo, unmake, wreck), destrãbãlatã (wanton). (various references) | |
Russian | раздирание (laceration), драть (flog), изнашиваться (abrade, wear, wear down, wear out), истрепать (wear out), прореха (rent, rip), загрызть (bite to death), надрыв, дыра (dump, hole, jag, rent), отрывать (break away, disinter, pick off, rend, tear away), слеза (dew, teardrop, tear-drop, water-drop), разорвать (break, rupture), разрыв (abruption, break, breaking, breakup, bursitis, burst, disruption, disturbance, divorcement, fracture, gap, jump, laceration, rip, rupture, severance, split, tearing), разрывать (break, decollate, disrupt, lacerate, rend, rip, rip open, rip up, ripping, sever, severing, severs, tear apart, tear open, unrip, unripe), разрываться, рвать (belch, gather, pick, puke, rend, retch, rip, shoot the cat, torn, upchuck), рвать слеза, ободрать (fleece, skin). (various references) | |
Scottish | deur (drop, small quantity of). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | trgati, suziti (constrict, narrow, take in), suza (teardrop), razjediniti (disincorporate, dissever, disunite, divide, unjoin), poderotina (rip), poderati (rip, wear out), pocepati (rip up, tear up), kidati (twitch), iscepati (rip out), derati (bawl, scream, skin), cepati (rive). (various references) | |
Spanish | lágrima (dew, drop, teardrop), desgarrar (claw, claw at, Harrow, rip up), rasgar (claw, jag, rent, rip, scrape, slash), rajar (brag, bugger off, chatter, cleave, crack, gash, slander, slit, split). (various references) | |
Swazi | ku-dzabûla (to tear). (various references) | |
Swedish | tår (drop), slita (break adrift, drudge, fag, get loose, labor, labour, pull, toil, travail, tug, wear, wrest, yank), reva (crack, reef, rift, rip, runner, wound). (various references) | |
Tagalog | luh . (various references) | |
Thai | แบ่งออก, ไม่สบายใจ (sick), น้ำตาไหลออกมา, น้ำตา, ทำให้เป็นรู, ทำให้ไม่สบายใจ, การฉีก (rip), การรีบเร่ง, ฉีกออก (rend, rip away), รอยฉีก, หย"ของเหลว. (various references) | |
Turkish | yolmak (flake, pick, pluck, pull, Rive), yarmak (breach, chop, cleave, Crimp, disrupt, flaw, hew, incise, maul, plough, plow, rend, rift, rip, sever, slash, slit, splinter, split, wedge off), yarılmak (burst, chap, cleave, crack, dehisce, rip, slit, split off, yawn), yarık (breach, chap, chappy, chasm, chink, cleft, cloven, cranny, crevasse, crevice, cut, fissure, gash, hiatus, incision, interstice, rent, rift, scissure, shake, slit, slot, split, vent), yırtmak (claw, cut the gordian knot, lacerate, rend, rip, rip up, Rive, slash, slit, squirm out of, tear to pieces), yırtılmak (rend, rip, slit), yırtık (rent, rip, rupture, slash, slit), paralamak (lay out, rend, tear to pieces), kopmak (blow up, break, break off, come off, detach, fly off, part, rupture, separate, sever, snap, split, sunder), koparmak (break, break off, cozen, cut off, deflorate, deflower, dissever, extort, pick, pick off, pluck, pry, pull off, rend, rip, rip off, Rive, rupture, snap, snap off, snatch, snatch away from, snatch from, sunder, take apart, tear away, tear off, tear out, unstick, work, wring), hızla koşmak, hırpalanmak, gözyaşı (dewy, lachrymal, teardrop, tears, waterworks), fırlamak (bolt, boom, bounce, break, burst, dart, dash, dodge, fling, flirt, fly off, fly out, goggle, high-tail, hurl oneself, hurtle, jump, leap up, make a dash, shoot, shoot ahead, shoot off, shoot out, shoot up, skyrocket, soar, spring, stand out, start, start up, steepen, whip, whisk, zoom), camdaki defo. (various references) | |
Turkmen | яyrtylmak (be torn), ьtmek (pull out). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | стрімкий галоп, сльоза, рватися (rip, slit), рвати (lacerate, pull, rend, rip, wrench), розрив (avulsion, breach, breaking, bursting, chasm, denunciation, dissolution, divorce, divorcement, estrangement, rip, rupture, severance, split), роздирати (lacerate, lock out), шаленіти (fall into a rage, rage, run amok, run amuck), крапля (bead, blob, dribble, drop, globule, gout, minim, smidgen), вихоплювати (tear out, whip up), несамовитість (delirium, ecstasy, furor, irresponsibility, violence), пронизувати (pierce through, saturate), дірка (bore, fray, rip). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | chỗ rách (torn). (various references) | |
Welsh | ymrwygo (burst), rhwygo (rend), llarpio (mangle, maul, rend), dragio (drag, mangle), deigryn. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | absciderunt, abscidi, abscidisset, abscidit, accipitrem, avellam, avellamus, avellatur, avellit, avulsus, concerperet, discisa, evellam, evellas, evellendi, evellentur, evellerem, evelleret, evellero, evelles, evellet, evelletur, evelli, evello, evulsa, evulsae, fletus, lacerare, lacrima, lacrimae, lacrimam, lacrimarum, lacrimas, lacrimis, laniare, laniastis, sciderunt, scidi, scidisse, scidisti, scidit, scindam, scindamus, scindendi, scindens, scindentes, scindentur, scindere, scindes, scindet, scindetur, scindit, scindite, scinditur, scissa, scissae, scissas, scissis, scissisque, scisso, scissos, scissum, scissura, scissuras, scissus, vellere. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Hosea Chapter 5, Verse 14 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Dioti egw eimi wV panqhr tw efraim kai wV lewn tw oikw iouda kai egw arpwmai kai poreusomai kai lhmyomai kai ouk estai o exairoumenoV |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Quoniam ego quasi leaena Ephraim et quasi catulus leonis domui Iuda ego ego capiam et vadam tollam et non est qui eruat |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | For Y as a lyonesse to Effraym, and as a whelp of lyoun to the hous of Juda. Y, Y shal take, and shal go, and shal take awey, and ther is not whiche shal delyuere. |
| Jacobean English |