ῥήγνυμι 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. to break a line of battle or body of men, Il., Hdt.; in Mid., ῥήξασθαι φάλαγγας, στίχας to break oneself a way through the lines, Il.; absol., ῥήξασθαι to break or force oneʼs way, Il. to let break loose, let loose, Il. 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), Hdt., Ar., etc. δακρύων ῥήξασα νάματα having let loose floods of tears, Soph.; so, ῥ. κλαυθμόν Plut. absol. in the form ῥήσσω, to beat the ground, dance, Il. later, as a term of fighters, to fell, knock down, Dem. Pass., mostly used in aor2 ἐρράγην α, to break, burst, of waves, Il.; of clouds, Ar. to break asunder, be rent, of the earth in an earthquake, Plat.; of garments, Xen. to burst forth, like lightning, Ar. of ships, to be wrecked, Dem.: metaph. of hopes, Aesch. intr., like Pass., to break forth, of a river, to break its bounds, Hdt.:—metaph. of sudden misfortunes, bursts of passion, Soph. in this intr. sense the perf. ἔρρωγα is commonly used of tears, Soph.; metaph., κακῶν πέλαγος ἔρρωγεν Aesch., etc.