What does "sever" mean?

Sever: 2. To cut or break open or apart; to divide into parts; to cut through; to disjoin; as, to sever the arm or leg. Our state can not be severed; we are one. Milton.

Additional senses

  1. 2.To keep distinct or apart; to except; to exempt. 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.
  2. 3.4. (Law) To disunite; to disconnect; to terminate; as, to sever an estate in joint tenancy. Blackstone.
  3. 4.To suffer disjunction; to be parted, or rent asunder; to be separated; to part; to separate. Shak.
  4. 5.To make a separation or distinction; to distinguish. The Lord shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt. Ex. ix.
  5. 6.They claimed the right of severing in their challenge. Macaulay.

Sources