asunder definition | Dictionary.com

a⋅sun⋅der

[uh-suhn-der]

–adverb, adjective

1.	into separate parts; in or into pieces: Lightning split the old oak tree asunder.

2.	apart or widely separated: as wide asunder as the polar regions.

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME; OE on sundrum apart. See a- ¹ , sundry

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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a·sun·der (ə-sŭn'dər) Pronunciation Key
adv.

Into separate parts or pieces: broken asunder.
Apart from each other either in position or in direction: The curtains had been drawn asunder.

[Middle English, from Old English on sundran : on, on; see on + sundran, separately (from sunder, apart).]
a·sun'der adj.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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asunder

c.1160, contraction of O.E. on sundran (see sunder).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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asunder
adjective
1.	widely separated especially in space; "as wide asunder as pole from pole"
adverb
1.	into parts or pieces; "he took his father's watch apart"; "split apart"; "torn asunder" [syn: apart]