スカンディナヴィア語から、ノルウェー語のrift, crackと比較、原語ゲルマン語*rifana, to scrape, to snatchから、PIE*rei, to tear, to cut, to scratchから、語源的にはrive, rifleと同じ。
英語の語源
rift (n.)
early 14c., "a split, act of splitting," from a Scandinavian source (compare Danish and Norwegian rift "a cleft," Old Icelandic ript (pronounced "rift") "breach;" related to Old Norse ripa "to break a contract" (see riven). Figurative use from 1620s. Geological sense from 1921. As a verb, c. 1300.
例文
1. The interview reflected a growing rift between the President and the government.
このインタビューは、大統領と政府の間の亀裂がますます大きくなっていることを反映している。
2.I felt that might well mend the rift between them.
そうすれば、彼らの前の嫌な思いを氷解させることができるかもしれないと思います。
3.The rift within the organization reflects the growing bitterness of the dispute.