To tear or rip apart into pieces; to lacerate or mangle.
From Latin dilaniatus, past participle of dilaniae (to tear to pieces), from di- (apart) + laniae (to tear). The term is archaic and literary, used to describe violent tearing or mangling.
This beautifully brutal word appears in older literature to describe animals tearing apart prey or warriors mangling each other in battle—it's the kind of visceral verb that makes medieval poetry vivid.
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