Etymology

Always derived from ON, cp. OIcel ript 'withdrawal, breach of contract', Norw rift 'cleft, chink, piece torn off', Dan rift 'tear, split, cleft' and Sw rift 'scratch, split, crack, cleft, chasm, piece torn off'. ON had several words ult. derived on the PGmc st. v. *rīfan- 'to tear' (as in OIcel rífa, cp. OFris rīva; cp. perh. also OE repan, rīpan 'to reap' from an apparent variant *rīpan- (see further ryue (v.)), and cp. also the OIcel wk. v. ripta 'rip up, invalidate'.

PGmc Ancestor

*rīfan-

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

ript 'withdrawal, breach of contract'
(ONP rift (sb.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

Norw rift, Dan rift, Sw rift

OE Cognate

Phonological and morphological markers

Summary category

B2c

Attestation

MED's earliest citations, starting with a1400(a1325) Cursor (Vsp A.3), are from N texts, and N and E texts remain most frequent in MED and OED3's medieval citations although more widespread attestations, incl. Lydgate, occur from the 15c.

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

Cl 368, 536, 964; WA 1756

Occurs twice in Cl as an element in a compound: rayn-ryfte (368) and lake-ryftes (536). 

Bibliography

MED rift(e (n.1) , OED3 rift (n.2) , HTOED , de Vries ript (2), Orel *riftiz, *rīfanan, Kroonen *rīfan- ~ *rīpan-, AEW ripan, riopan