rupture

Meanings

Noun

• A burst, split, or break.
• A social breach or break, between individuals or groups.
• A break or tear in soft tissue, such as a muscle.
• A failure mode in which a tough ductile material pulls apart rather than cracking.

Verb

• To burst, break through, or split, as under pressure.
• To dehisce irregularly.

Origin

• Borrowed from Middle French rupture, or its source, Latin ruptūra ("a breaking, rupture (of a limb or vein)") and Medieval Latin ruptūra ("a road, a field, a form of feudal tenure, a tax, etc."), from the participle stem of rumpo.