Sever

Sev"er, v. i. 1. To suffer disjunction; to be parted, or rent asunder; to be separated; to part; to separate. Shak.

2. To make a separation or distinction; to distinguish.

The Lord shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt.
Ex. ix. 4.

They claimed the right of severing in their challenge.
Macaulay.

Sev"er (?), v. t. [imp. &. p. p. Severed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Severing.] [OF. sevrer, severer, to separate, F. sevrer to wean, fr. L. separare. See Separate, and cf. Several.] 1. To separate, as one from another; to cut off from something; to divide; to part in any way, especially by violence, as by cutting, rending, etc.; as, to sever the head from the body.

The angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just.
Matt. xiii. 49.

2. To cut or break open or apart; to divide into parts; to cut through; to disjoin; as, to sever the arm or leg.

Our state can not be severed; we are one.
Milton.

3. To keep distinct or apart; to except; to exempt.

I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there.
Ex. viii. 22.

4. (Law) To disunite; to disconnect; to terminate; as, to sever an estate in joint tenancy. Blackstone.