Sĕv'er1, v. t.
v. t. [imp. & p. p. SEVERED; p. pr. & vb. n. SEVERING.] [O. Fr. severer, severer, to separate, N. Fr. severer, to wean, It. serrare, secerare, secerare, secerare, to sever, separate, wean, from Lat. separare. See SEPARATE.]
Sense 1. To separate, as one from another; to divide; to part; as, to sever the head from the body.
The angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just. Matt. xiii. 49.
Sense 2. To cut or break open or apart; to divide parts of; to cut through; to disjoin; as, to sever the arm at one blow.
Our state can not be severed; we are one. Milton.
Sense 3. To keep distinct or apart; to make a distinction respecting; to distinguish; to discriminate; to except.
I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there. Ex. viii. 22.
Sense 4. (Law.) To disunite; to disconnect; to part possession of; as, to sever an estate in joint-tenancy. Blackstone.