From Middle English asunder, asondre, onsunder, on sondre, from Old English asundran, onsundrum, from Proto-Germanic *sunder, *sundraz.

• (British, RP) IPA: /əˈsʌndə/
• (America, America) enPR: ə-sŭnʹdər, IPA: /əˈsʌndɚ/

asunder

1. (archaic, literary) Into separate parts or pieces.

   Synonyms: apart, in twain

   to tear asunder

   • c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act III, scene i]:

     Page. I warrant you, he’s the man should fight with him.
     Robert Shallow. […] It appears so by his weapons. Keep them asunder:

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, Psalms 2:3 ↗:

     Let vs breake their bandes asunder, and cast away their cords from vs.

   • 1726 October 27, [Jonathan Swift], Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver's Travels], London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC ↗, (please specify |part=I to IV), page 57 ↗:

     He desired I would stand like a Colossus, with my Legs as far asunder as I conveniently could.

• See also Thesaurus:asunder

• French: en morceaux
• German: in Stücke, entzwei, auseinander
• Italian: in pezzi
• Portuguese: em pedaços
• Russian: на части
• Spanish: en dos, en pedazos