ῥήγνυμι
I. "to break, break asunder or in pieces, rend, shiver, shatter", Hom., etc.:—"to rend" garments, in sign of grief, Aesch.:—Mid. "to break for oneself, get broken", Il.
2. "to break" a line of battle or body of men, id=Il., Hdt.; in Mid., ῥήξασθαι φάλαγγας, στίχας "to break oneself a way through" the lines, Il.; absol., ῥήξασθαι "to break or force one's" way, id=Il.
3. "to let break loose, let loose", id=Il.
4. ῥῆξαι φωνήν "to let loose" the voice, of children and persons who have been dumb "breaking into speech", Hdt.: then "to speak freely, speak out" (like "rumpere vocem", Virgil), id=Hdt., Ar., etc.
5. δακρύων ῥήξασα νάματα "having let loose" floods of tears, Soph.; so, ῥ. κλαυθμόν Plut.
II. absol. in the form ῥήσσω, "to beat the ground, dance", Il.
III. later, as a term of fighters, "to fell, knock down", Dem.
B. Pass., mostly used in aor2 ἐρράγην [α], "to break, burst", of waves, Il.; of clouds, Ar.
2. "to break asunder, be rent", of the earth in an earthquake, Plat.; of garments, Xen.
3. "to burst forth", like lightning, Ar.
4. of ships, "to be wrecked", Dem.: metaph. of hopes, Aesch.
C. intr., like Pass., "to break forth", of a river, "to break its bounds", Hdt.:—metaph. of sudden misfortunes, bursts of passion, Soph.
II. in this intr. sense the perf. ἔρρωγα is commonly used of tears, id=Soph.; metaph., κακῶν πέλαγος ἔρρωγεν Aesch., etc.