Severed

How to spell severed

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce severed

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does severed mean?

1. verbCut off or divided something completely by cutting through it.
2. verbBrought a relationship, agreement, or connection to a complete end.

Severed in a sentence

• The surgeon severed the damaged nerve during the operation.

• The company severed all ties with the disgraced supplier.

• The falling branch severed the power line to the cottage.

• After the dispute, the two firms severed their long partnership.

Where does severed come from?

Language of origin: French

This is the past form of the verb 'sever', which English took from the Old French 'sevrer', meaning 'to separate' or 'to part'. That French verb descended in turn from the Latin 'separare', built from 'se-' (apart) and 'parare' (to prepare or arrange), so the literal sense was to arrange things apart from one another. English adopted it in the 1300s, at first for separating people and only later for the violent cutting-through that the word now suggests. The very same Latin 'separare' also gave English the more obvious word 'separate', which is a useful clue: the single 'v' in 'severed' is all that stands between this everyday cutting word and its bookish cousin. The trap for writers is the unstressed second syllable, where the 'er' is easy to swallow and misspell.

How the word is built

• sever (from Latin separare: to separate)
• -ed (past tense / past participle suffix)