# An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/R (full text)

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R.
Rabe, m., ‘raven,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rabe (rappe), OHG. rabo (*rappo), m., also MidHG. raben, OHG. raban, hraban, and MidHG. ram (mm), OHG. ram, hram (with mm for mn), m., ‘raven’; all these forms point to Goth. *hrabns. Comp. OIc. hrafn, AS. hrœfn, m., E. raven, Du. raaf, rave (comp. Rappe). The proper names Wolf-ram, OHG. Hraban, and ModHG. Rapp preserve the old variants. Perhaps ​these cognates with Lat. corvus, Gr. κόραξ, ‘raven,’ Lat. cornir, and Gr. κορώνη, ‘crow,’ belong to the same root; yet the Teut. form has a peculiar structure of its own, which, contrary to the usual assumption, presents some difficulties.
Rache, f., ‘revenge, vengeance,’ from MidHG. râche, OHG. râhha, f.; allied to rächen.
Rachen, m., ‘throat, jaws, abyss,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rache, OHG. rahho, m., for the earlier *hrahho; comp. AS. hraca, m., ‘throat,’ perhaps also AS. hracca, ‘back of the head, nape,’ E. rack, ‘neck of mutton’; also Du. raak, ‘back part of the palate, inner parts of the month.’ Further references for determining the origin of the word are wanting; no relation to Kragen is possible.
rächen, vb., ‘to revenge, avenge,’ from MidHG. rëcken, OHG. rëhhan, older *wrëhhan, ‘to revenge, obtain satisfaction for some one’; corresponding to Goth. wrikan, ‘to persecute,’ gawrikan, ‘to avenge,’ AS. wrëcan, ‘to drive out, revenge, chastisise’ E. to wreak, to which wreak is akin, Du. wreken, ‘to revenge,’ and wraak, wrake, f., ‘revenge,’ OSax. wrekan, ‘to chastise.’ The Teut. root wrek (comp. also Rache, Recke, Wrak) with the prim. meaning ‘to pursue, or rather expel, especially with the idea of punishment,’ is derived from a pre-Teut. wreg, werg. It is usually compared with Lat. urgeo, ‘I oppress,’ Sans. root vṛj, ‘to turn away,’ Gr. εἴργω, ‘enemy,’ Lith. rárgas, ‘distress’ (vàrgti, ‘to be in want’), which imply an Aryan root werg, wreg.
Racker, m., ‘layer, hangman's servant,’ ModHG. only; comp. Du. rakker, ‘beadle, hangman.’ Lessing suggested that it was allied to recken, ‘to put to the rack.’ It is now usually connected with LG. racken, ‘to sweep together,’ and MidLG. racker, ‘flayer, knacker, nightman.’
Rad, m., ‘wheel,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rat (gen. rades), OHG. rad, n.; corresponding to LG. and Du. rad (comp. also OFris. reth). The word is confined to MidEurop. Teut.; it is wanting in E., Scand., and Goth.; this, however, is no reason for assuming that the word is borrowed from Lat. rota. Since OHG. rad is based on pre-Teut. rotho-m, rothos, n., (Goth. *raþa-), ‘wheel,’ it is primit. cognate with the equiv. OIr. roth, m., and Lat. rota, and likewise with Lith. rátas, ‘wheel.’ The corresponding Sans. ratha-s (rathas, n. in ráthas-páti) signifies ‘car,’ espec. ‘war chariot’ (for the root roth see under rasch), while Sans. cakra, Gr. κύκλος, corresponding to AS. hweol, E. wheel, also means ‘wheel’ in Aryan. —
radebrechen, vb., from the equiv. MidHG. radebrechen, ‘to break on the wheel, mangle,’ akin to Du. radbraken, ‘to mutilate, mangle, murder a language,’ See Achse, Lünse, Wagen.
Rädelsführer, m., ‘ringleader,’ ModHG. only, allied to Bav. Rädel (dimin. of Rad), ‘small circle of persons, ranks, dancing-song’; as to the evolution of meaning comp. E. ringleader, allied to ring.
Raden, m., ‘cockle-weed,’ from MidHG. râde, usually râte, ratte, râten, ratten, m., ‘a weed among corn,’ OHG. râto, ratto, m.; so too OLG. râda, f., ‘weed.’ In Franc. and Henneberg râdme occurs, in Swiss and Suab. ratte. Perhaps the numerous forms of this simply MidEurop. Teut. word point to a primit. G. râþwo- (prim. form rêtwo-). cognate terms in the non-Teut. languages have not yet been discovered.
Räder, m., also Rädel, ‘sieve,’ allied to MidHG. rëden, OHG. rëdan, ‘to sift, winnow.’ The Teut. stem is probably hreþ-, hence the word may be related to Lith. krétalas, ‘sieve,’ kreczù, ‘to shake’; allied also perhaps to Lat. cer-nere, ‘to sift’ (creteus, ‘sifted’).
raffen, vb., ‘to snatch, carry off suddenly,’ from MidHG. raffen, OHG. *raffôn (by chance not recorded), ‘to pluck, pull out, snatch away’; corresponding to LG. and Du. rapen, ‘to gather hastily.’ E. to raff is derived from Fr. raffer, which, like Ital. arraffare, is borrowed from HG.; on the other hand, E. to rap is primit. allied to HG. raffen. MidHG. raspôn (for rafspôn), MidHG. raspen, ‘to collect hastily,’ and Ital. arrappare, ‘to carry off,’ are also connected with the Teut. root hrap.
ragen, vb., ‘to project, stand forth,’ from MidHG. ragen (OHG. hragén), ‘to project, become rigid, be prominent’; allied to MidHG. rac, adj., ‘tense, stiff, astir’; also to AS. oferhragian, ‘to tower above’; see Rahe and regen.
Rahe, f., also Raa (under LG. and Du. influence), ‘yard’ (of a ship), from MidHG. rahe, f., ‘pole’; corresponding to Du. ra, ‘sail-yard,’ OIc. rá, f., ‘sail-yard’ (Goth. *răha, f., ‘pole’). Rahe is native, both to UpG. and LG.; comp. Bav. raχe, ‘pole.’
​ Rahm, m., ‘cream, crust of mould or mildew,’ from the equiv. MidHG. roum, m.; comp. Du. room, AS. reám (earlier ModE. ream), OIc. rjóme, ‘cream.’ The â of the ModHG. form compared with OHG. *roum (Thuring. roum) is dialectal (comp. MidHG. strâm and stroum under Strom). The origin of these cognates has not yet been discovered.
Rahmen, m., ‘frame, border,’ from MidHG. ram, rame, m. and f., ‘prop. framework, frame for embroidery or weaving,’ OHG. rama, ‘pillar, prop’; comp. Du. roum, ‘frame.’ Allied probably to Goth. hramjan, ‘to crucify,’ lit. ‘to fasten to a pillar or prop’(?) which may, however, be cognate with Gr. κρεμάννυμι. Rahmen, prop. ‘setting,’ is usually connected with OSlov. kroma, f., ‘border.’
Raigras, n., ModHG. only, from the equiv. E. ray-grass, or rather from its phonetic variant rye-grass.
Rain, m., ‘strip or belt of grass as a dividing line between fields, ridge,’ from MidHG. and OHG. rein, m., ‘ridge’ (as a line of division between fields); corresponding to LG. reen, ‘field boundary,’ OIc. rein, f., ‘strip of land.’ Perhaps cognate with Sans. rêkhâ, f., ‘row, line, strip.’
Ralle, f., ‘corncrake,’ ModHG. only, from Fr. râle, whence also E. rail.
Ramme, f., from the equiv. MidHG. (MidG.) ramme, f., ‘rammer, pile-driver,’ prop. identical with MidHG. ram (gen. rammes), m., ‘ram,’ OHG. ram, rammo, m., ‘ram’ (comp. Bock, Krahn); corresponding to Du. ram, ‘ram, battering-ram,’ AS. ramm, E. ram. No connection with Gr. ἀρήν is possible; it is more probably allied to OIc. ramr, rammr, ‘strong, sharp, powerful.’ See the following word.
rammeln, vb., ‘to buck, rut, ram, force in,’ from MidHG. rammeln, OHG. rammalôn, ‘to rut’; akin to Rammler, ‘buck rabbit,’ from MidHG. rammeler, ‘ram during the rutting season.’ A derivative of the cognates discussed under Ramme.
Rampe, f., ‘sloping terrace,’ only from, Fr. rampe.
Rand, m., ‘rim, border, brink,’ from MidHG. rant (gen. randes), m., OHG. rant (gen. rantes), m., ‘boss of a shield,’ then ‘rim of a shield,’ and finally ‘rim’ (generally); so too Du. rand, ‘edge, rim,’ AS. rǫnd, m., ‘rim of a shield, shield, rim,’ E. rand, OIc. rǫnd (for randô-), ‘shield, rim of a shield.’ Goth. *randa, ‘rim,’ is also implied by Span. randa, ‘lace on clothes.’ Pre-Teut. *ram-tâ points to a root rem (AS. rĭma, reoma, ‘rim’), the m of which before d would be necessarily changed to n (see hundert, Sand, Sund, and Schande). From the same prim. form is derived the modern dial. term Ranft for Rand; comp. OHG. ramft (with an excrescent f as in Kunft? yet comp. the equiv. OSlov. rąbŭ and Lith. rùmbas), m., ‘rim, rind, border,’ MidHG. ranft, m., ‘frame, rim, rind.’ Rinde also belongs probably to the same stem.
Rang, m., ‘rank, order, row,’ ModHG. only, from Fr. rang (whence also Du. rang, E. rank), which again is derived from G. Ring, OHG. ring, hring.
Range, m., ‘dissolute youth,’ first occurs in early ModHG. Allied to ringen.
Rank, plur. Ränke, m., ‘winding, intrigue, wile,’ from MidHG. ranc (k), m., ‘rapid winding or movement’; corresponding to AS. wręnč, ‘bend, cunning, plot,’ E. wrench. See renken. —
Ranke, f., ‘tendril, creeper,’ ModHG. only, from MidHG. ranken, ‘to move to and fro, extend, stretch.’ See renken. —
Rankkorn, n., from the equiv. MidHG. rankorn, rankhorn, n., ‘quinsy (in pigs)’; allied to Du. wrong, which is used of the diseases of cows. Whether it belongs, by inference from the Du. word, to the pre-Teut. root wrank (see renken), is uncertain.
Ranzen, m., ‘belly, knapsack, satchel,’ from MidHG. rans, m. ‘belly, pauch.’ Comp. Du. ranzel, ‘knapsack.’
ranzen, vb., ‘to speak rudely or harshly to,’ ModHG. only, probably for *rankzen, allied to MidHG. ranken, ‘to bray.’ Scarcely cognate with E. to rant.
ranzig, adj., ‘rancid, fetid,’ ModHG. only, from the equiv. Fr. rance (Lat. rancidus), like, or through the medium of, Du. rans, ‘rotten, rancid.’
Rapp, m., ‘grape-stalk,’ from the MidHG. rappe, rape, m., borrowed from the equiv. Fr. râpe (comp. Ital. raspo), whence also the equiv. E. rape.
Rappe (1.), m., ‘black horse,’ ModHG. only in this sense, which is a figurative use of MidHG. rappe, ‘raven,’ the variant of MidHG. rabe (Alem. rap, ‘raven’). OHG. *rappo is wanting; it would be related to rabo like *knappo, ‘squire,’ to knabo, ‘boy.’ See Rappen.
Rappe (2.), f., ‘malanders,’ from MidHG. rappe, rapfe, f., ‘itch, scab’; allied to Du. rappig, ‘scabby.’ The root is seen in ​OHG. rapfen, ‘to harden (of wounds), form a scab,’ and in râffi. From HG. the equiv. Fr. râpes, pl., is formed.
Rappe (3.), f., ‘rasp,’ ModHG. only, from the equiv. Fr. râpe, which again corresponds to OHG. raspôn, ‘to sweep off,’ MidHG. raspeln. See raffen, Rapp, and Raspe.
rappeln, vb., ‘to rattle,’ ModHG. only, from LG.; the correct MidHG. form is raffeln, ‘to bluster, clatter’; allied to E. to rap, MidE. rappien. — In the sense of ‘to be crack-brained, rave,’ rappeln may be derived from the meaning ‘to bustle’; it is usually connected, however, with MidHG. (MidG.) rëben, ‘to dream, be confused,’ which is derived from Fr. rêver, whence also E. to rave.
Rappen, m., ‘centime,’ from MidHG. rappe, m., ‘the name of a coin first made in Freiburg in Baden, and stamped with the head of a raven, the Freiburg coat of arms.’ See berappen and Rappe (1).
Rappier, m. and n., first occurs in early ModHG., from Fr. rapier, whence also the The Fr. equiv. E. rapier and Du. rapier. The Fr. word is generally regarded as Teut. and derived from râpe. See Rappe (3).
Rappuse, f., ‘common prey, scramble,’ from late MidHG. rabusch, m., ‘tally,’ which is again derived from the equiv. Bohem. rabuše.
Raps, m., ‘rape-seed,’ ModHG. only, from Lat. rapicium. See Rübe.
rapsen, vb., ‘to sweep off,’ intensive of raffen. LG. rapen.
Rapunzel, m., ‘rampion, corn-salad,’ ModHG. only, not from Lat. rapunculus, but rather an extended form from MidLat. rapunciun (Fr. raiponce, comp. Du. rapunsje), whence also Ital. ramponzolo; comp. further E. rampion. Allied to Lat. rapa (see Rübe).
rar, adj., ModHG. only, from Fr. rare (Lat. rarus), whence also Du. raar, E. rare.
Rasch, m., ‘arras, serge,’ ModHG. only, from the equiv. Du. ras (E. arras). In late MidHG. arraȥ, arras, ‘light woollen fabric, serge,’ which was named from Arras, a town in the north of France.
rasch, adj., ‘impetuous, speedy, swift, rash,’ from MidHG. rasch, OHG. rasc, adj., ‘quick, prompt, skilful, powerful,’ of which the equiv. variants MidHG. and OHG. rosch, and MidHG. resch, risch, occur. Corresponding to E. rash, Du. rasch; OIc. rǫskr (Goth. *rasqs), ‘brave.’ The final dental of the root has disappeared before the suffix sqa, ska (*rasqa- for *rat-sqa); comp. OHG. rado, AS. rœde, ‘quick.’ Comp. also OIc. horskr, AS. horsc, ‘quick, clever,’ with AS. hrœdlîc, ‘quick.’ The Teut. root raþ, Aryan rot (roth), in OHG. rado, ‘quick,’ may have meant ‘to hasten’; it appears also in ModHG. Rad.
rascheln, vb., ‘to rustle, rattle,’ ModHG. only, probably a derivative of rasch, like OHG. rascezzen, ‘to sob, emit sparks,’ because of the successive short and lively movements. Comp. AS. rœscetung, ‘sparkling.’
Rasen, m., from the equiv. late MidHG. rase, m., ‘turf, sward’; comp. MidLG. wrase, LG. frasen. The word is wanting in the other dials. (Goth. *wrasa may perhaps be assumed); in UpG. Wasen, which is primit. cognate with the primary form wrasa.
rasen, vb., ‘to rave, rage,’ from MidHG. rasen (rare), ‘to storm, rave’; corresponding to LG. rasen, Du. razen. It is usually thought that the word was borrowed from LG., since it is not found in HG. till the end of the 13th cent. Allied to AS. râsettan, ‘to rave,’ rœ̂san, ‘to make a violent attack,’ rœs, ‘attack, charge’ (comp. E. race), OIc. rás, ‘race, running,’ and rasa, ‘to rush headlong.’
Raspe, f., ‘rasp,’ ModHG. only, from Fr. raspe (now râpe), hence prop. identical with Rappe (3).
Raspel, f., ‘large rough file, rasp,’ ModHG. only, a derivative of the preceding; comp. E. rasp, rasper. As to the ultimate connection of the cognates with OHG. raspôn, ‘to scrape together,’ comp. Rappe (3).
Rasse, f., ‘race, breed,’ borrowed in the 18th cent. from Fr. race, which is recorded as early as the 16th cent., at which period the E. word race was also borrowed; the Fr. term and its Rom. cognates (Ital. razza is met with even in the 14th cent.) are derived from OHG. reitza, reiȥȥa, f., ‘line.’
rasseln, vb., ‘to rattle, clatter,’ from MidHG. raȥȥeln (from raȥȥen), ‘to bluster, rave,’ but based in meaning on LG. rateln, ‘to clatter’; comp. MidHG. ratzen, ‘to rattle,’ Du. rateln, ‘to clatter, chatter,’ ratel, ‘rattle, clapper,’ AS. hrœtele, E. rattle. The Teut. root hrat appearing in these words is connected with Gr. κραδαίνω, ‘I swing.’
Rast, f., ‘rest, repose,’ from MidHG. rast, raste, f., OHG. rasta, f., ‘repose, rest, permanence,’ also in OHG. and MidHG. ​‘stage of a journey,’ which is the only sense borne by Goth. rasta and OIc. rǫst. Comp. AS. rœst, E. rest, OSax. rasta, ręsta, ‘couch, deathbed,’ Du. rust (see Rüste), ‘rest, repose.’ The common Teut. word is based on a root ras, ‘to remain, dwell,’ which may also be inferred from Goth. razn and OIc. rann, ‘house.’ Rast, in the sense of ‘stage,’ comes from the period when the Western Aryans were migrating to Europe; only a wandering tribe could adopt the intervals of reposing and encamping as a measure of distances. Moreover, the older language preserves a few other words as relics of the migratory period; comp. MidHG. tageweide, f., ‘day's journey, the distance traversed in a day’ (prop. said of nomadic marches, ‘the length of pasture grazed by cattle in one day’); see Hanf. Whether the assumed root ras, ‘to remain, dwell,’ is connected with the root rô in Ruhe is doubtful.
Rat, m., ‘counsel, advice, deliberation, council,’ from MidHG. and OHG. rât (gen. râtes), m., ‘counsel, means at hand, store of provisions’; these meanings are still partly preserved by ModHG. Gerät, Vorrat, Hausrat, Unrat. A verbal abstract of ModHG. raten, MidHG. râten, OHG. râtan, ‘to advise’; comp. the equiv. Goth. rêdan, OIc. râða, AS. rœ̂dan (to which E. to read is akin?), OSax. râdan. Some etymologists have connected the common Teut. rêdan, ‘to advise,’ with Lat. reor, ‘to suppose’; in that case the dental of the Teut. verb is prop. only part of the pres. stem, which was afterwards joined to the root. Others with equal reason have referred to the Sans. root râdh, ‘to carry out a project, put to rights, obtain; to appease,’ and to Sans. raditi, ‘to feel solicitous, trouble oneself about.’ —
ratschlagen, vb., ‘to deliberate,’ from the equiv. late MidHG. râtslagen, the origin of which is obscure. See Rätsel.
Ratsche, f., ‘rattle, clapper,’ ModHG. only, allied to MidHG. ratzen, ‘to clatter’; see rasseln.
Rätsel, n., ‘riddle, perplexity,’ from the equiv. MidHG. râtsal, rœtsel, n., OHG. *râtisal, n.; comp. OLG. râdisli, MidLG. rêdelse, Du. raadsel, AS. rœ̂dels (for *rœ̂desl), m., whence the equiv. E. riddle, the s of the AS. word being regarded as a sign of the plur. The formation of the subst. from raten corresponds to that of Mühsal from mühen, of Labsal from laben, and of Trübsal from trüben. The notion ‘riddle’ was current among the Teutons from early times; the Goth. term was frisahts; in OHG. we find tuncal, n., and râtussa, râtissa, f. ‘riddle.’
Ratte, f., from the equiv. MidHG. ratte, rate, f., rat, rate, m., OHG. rato, m., ratta, f., ‘rat’ (in MidHG. there also appears another variant ratz, ratze, m., whence Bav. and Swiss Ratze). It corresponds to OLG. ratta, f., Du. rat, rot, m., AS. rœtt (?), E. rat, Dan. rotte. Besides these are found the Rom. words Fr. rat, Ital. ratto, and also Gael. radan. The origin of all these cognates is unknown. The Rom. class has been derived from Lat. raptus, rapidus; in that case Ital. ratto, ‘quick, nimble,’ would be the primary meaning. The phonetic relations of the Teut. words are not sufficiently clear to pronounce a decided opinion (comp. Katze).
Raub, m., ‘robbery, spoil,’ from the equiv. MidHG. roup (gen. roubes), m., OHG. roub, m.; comp. OSax. rôf in nôdrôf. ‘violent wresting,’ Du. roof, m., ‘robbery,’ AS. reáf, n., ‘robbery, booty,’ allied to AS. reófan, ‘to break, rend,’ OIc. rjúfa, str. vb., ‘to break, rend’ (espec. used of a breach of contract); these are further connected with Lat. rumpo (Aryan root rup); comp. the Sans. root lup, ‘to shatter.’ Hence Raub seems to mean lit. ‘breach of contract.’? —
rauben, vb., ‘to rob, plunder,’ from MidHG. rouben, OHG. roubôn; OSax. rôbôn, AS. reáfian, whence E. to reave (the AS. subst. reáf has become obsolete in E.), Goth. biraubôn, ‘to plunder, despoil.’ The Teut. cognates passed with two distinct meanings into Rom.; comp. on the one hand Ital. ruba, ‘robbery,’ rubare, ‘to rob,’ Fr. dérober, ‘to steal,’ and on the other Ital. roba, ‘coat, dress,’ Fr. robe. The latter are connected with Raub, since by inference from OHG. roub and AS. reáf, ‘robbery, booty, armour, dress,’ the OTeut. word had probably acquired the meanings of ‘garments got by plundering, dress (generally).’ See also raufen.
Rauch, m., from the equiv. MidHG. rouch, OHG. rauh (hh), m., ‘smoke, steam’; corresponding to OSax. rôk, m., Du. rook, AS. rêc (from Goth. *rauki), m., E. reek, OIc. reykr, m., ‘smoke’; Goth. *rauks (rauki-) is by chance not recorded. The common Teut. is connected by gradation with the Teut. root rū̆k, ‘to smoke,’ See riechen.
rauch, adj., ‘rough, hairy’; equiv. to ​rauh; Rauchwerk, ‘furs, skins’ (MidHG. rûchwërc) contains ModHG. rauh, ‘hairy, covered with hair’; Rauchhandel (ModHG. only), ‘trade in furs, furred skins.’
Räude, f., from the equiv. MidHG. riude, rûde, f., OHG. rûda, f., ‘scab, mange, scabies,’ for an earlier *hrûda, since it is allied to OIc. hruðr, m., ‘scab of a wound’; comp. Du. ruit, ‘scab, itch.’ —
räudig, ‘scabby, mangy,’ from MidHG. riudec, OHG. riudig, older rûdîg, ‘scabiosus.’ Perhaps OHG. rû-da (from the Teut. root hrû) is connected with Lat. cruor, ‘gore,’ crû-dus, ‘bloody, raw,’ to which AS. hrûm, ‘soot,’ is probably akin.
raufen, vb., ‘to pluck, pull out,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. roufen (MidHG. also röufen); corresponding to Goth. raupjan, ‘to tear out, pluck off.’ A Teut. root raup (see rupfen) has not yet been found elsewhere; it is, however, probably connected with the Aryan root rup, ‘to break’ (see Raub). —
Raufe, f., ‘rack’ (for fodder), from late MidHG. roufe, f.; derived from raufen, just as MidLG. roepe from roepen; but in what way is it connected with Du. ruif, ‘rack,’ ruiffel, ‘wrinkle’?
Raugraf, m., ‘Raugrave,’ from MidHG. rû-grâve, m. a title like MidHG. wilt-grâve; prop. perhaps ‘Count in a rough or uncultivated country’; from rauh.
rauh, adj., ‘rough, harsh, coarse,’ from MidHG. rûch (infl. rûher), OHG. rûh (infl. rûhêr), adj., ‘rongh, shaggy, bristly’; comp. MidDu. ruch, ModDu. ruig, ruw, ‘rough,’ AS. rûh, E. rough. Goth. *rûhs, rûhws, are wanting. Perhaps primit. allied to Lith. raúkas, ‘wrinkle,’ rùkti, ‘to become wrinkled.’ The compound Rauchwerk, ‘furs, skins,’ preserves normally the uninflected form of MidHG. rûch. See rauch.
Rauke, f., ‘rocket,’ ModHG. only, from Lat. erûca, ‘a sort of colewort,’ whence also Ital. ruca, ruchetta, Fr. roquette (E. rocket).
Raum, m., from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. rûm (MidHG. rûn), m., ‘room, space’; corresponding to OSax., m., rûm, m., Du. reim, AS. rûm, m., E. room, Goth. rûm, n., OIc. rûm, n., ‘room, open space, bed, seat.’ The common Teut. subst. originated in the adj. rûma-, ‘spacious’; comp. Goth. rûms, MidHG. rûm and gerûm, ModHG. geraum, Du. ruim, AS. rûm, ‘spacious.’ The root is usually considered to be rû, and the class connected with Lat. rû-s (gen. rû-ris), ‘country,’ and Zend ravaṅh, ‘space, distance.’
raumen, see anberaumen.
raunen, vb., from the equiv. MidHG. rûnen, OHG. rûnên, ‘to whisper, to utter in a low, soft tone,’ allied to MidHG. rûne, f., ‘whisper, secret conference.’ Corresponding to OLG. rûnôn, AS. rûnian, E. to roun (round), also AS. rûn, f., ‘secret deliberation, secret,’ Goth. rûna, f. (see Alraune), ‘secret, secret resolution’; OIc. rún, f., ‘secret, rune.’ It has also been compared further with the cognates, Gr. ἐρευνάω, ‘to search, track,’ as well as with Ir. rún, ‘secret.’
ModHG. Rune, f. (AS. rûnstafas, ‘secret characters, runes’), was introduced from the Scand. dials. by the literary movement for the promotion of Teut. studies in the last cent.
Raupe (1.), f., ‘caterpillar,’ from MidHG. rûpe, rûppe, OHG. rûpa, rûppa, f., ‘larvæ of insects, caterpillar.’ In Suab. and Bav. (partly also in Swiss) the word is wanting, the term used being Graswurm, in OHG. grasawurm (yet in Suab. ruopen, ‘to clear the trees of caterpillars,’ with an abnormal ů for û); in Swiss roup, which probably originated in the written language (in Henneberg abnormally roppe).
Raupe (2.) in Aalraupe is an entirely different word; see the latter.
Rausch (1.), m., ‘cranberry,’ from MidHG. rûsch, rusch, f., ‘rush,’ from Lat. ruscum, whence also Du. rusch, m., ‘rush,’ AS. rŷsče, f., E. rush; see Risch and Rusch.
Rausch (2.), m., ‘carouse, rush, roar,’ ModHG. only (corresponding in MidHG. to rûsch, m., ‘onset, attack’; see rauschen); its relation to LG. roes, ‘intoxication,’ E. rouse, OIc. rúss, ‘drunkenness,’ is still obscure. The ModHG. word has certainly been borrowed.
rauschen, vb., ‘to rustle, roar, be excited,’ from MidHG. rûschen (riuschen), ‘rustle, roar, swell, hurry along’; corresponding to Du. ruischen, ‘to rustle,’ E. to rush (MidE. ruschen).
Rauschgelb, n., ‘red sulphuret of arsenic,’ first occurs in early ModHG., corresponding to Du. rusgeel; earlier ModHG. also Ruß-, Roßgelb; allied to Rom. and Lat. russus (Ital. rosso), ‘red.’
räuspern, vb., ‘to hawk, clear the throat,’ from the equiv. MidHG. riuspern (riustern). This verb, which is not recorded prior to MidHG., belongs to a root frequently occurring in Teut., rū̆k (Aryan ​rū̆g), ‘to belch, eructate,’ the k disappearing before the suffix sp, st; comp. AS. roccettan, ‘to belch,’ OHG. itarucchen, MidHG. itrücken, AS. edorcan (eodorcan), ‘to chew the cud.’ Comp. Lat. ê-rûgere, ‘to spit out,’ rûminare (for *rûgminare), ‘to chew the cud,’ and ructare, ‘to belch,’ Gr. ἐρεύγεν, ‘to spit out,’ ἐρυγή, f., ‘vomiting,’ OSlov. rygati sę ‘to belch,’ Lith. atrūgas, f. pl., ‘rising of the stomach.’
Raute (1.), f., ‘rue,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rûte, OHG. rûta, f. This, like the equiv. Du. ruit, is usually considered to be borrowed from Lat. rûta (comp. Ital. ruta); yet AS. rûde, ‘rue,’ might prove that the G. word is cognate with Lat. rûta. E. rue, from Fr. rue.
Raute (2.), f., ‘quadrangle, square,’ from MidHG. rûte, f., ‘lozenge in heraldry, pane’ (hence Du. ruit, ‘square’). As to OHG. *rûta for *hrûta, equiv. to Aryan krûtâ, klrûtâ, see vier.
Rebe, f., ‘vine, vine-branch,’ from MidHG. rëbe, OHG. rëba, f., MidHG. rëbe, OHG. rëbo, m., ‘vine, tendril, creeper’ (comp. Gundelrebe); corresponding words are wanting in the other dials. OHG. has a remarkable form, hirnirëba, ‘skull,’ lit. perhaps ‘entwining the brain’; hence with this word is connected the common Teut. Rippe, as well as OSlov. rebro, ‘rib’ (see Rippe). The primary idea of all these terms, and of the Aryan root rebh, deduced from them, is ‘winding, entwining.’ —
Rebhuhn, n., ‘partridge,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rëphuon, OHG. rëba-huon, rëbhuon, n.; it is not probable that Rebhuhn signifies ‘the fowl that is fond of frequenting vines (Reben).’ Perhaps reba- has here another sense. To assume also, on account of LG. raphon, Swed. rapphöna, ‘partridge’ (OIc. rjúpa, ‘ptarmigan’), that the word is derived from LG. rapp, ‘quick,’ is inadmissible, since the HG. term occurs at a very early period. It is most probably connected with the equiv. Russ. rjabka (allied to OSlov. rębŭ, Russ. rjaboj, ‘variegated’).
Rebus, m. and n., a modern term like the equiv. E. rebus and Fr. rébus; the source and history of the cognates are unknown. The word is based on Lat. rebus, ‘by things,’ since the meaning of a rebus is illustrated by pictorial objects.
Rechen, m., ‘rake, rack,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rëche, OHG. rëhkho, m.; corresponding to Du. reek, f., ‘rake,’ and OIc. reka, f., ‘rake’; allied to MidHG. rëchen, OHG. rëhhan, ‘to scrape together,’ Goth. rikan, ‘to heap up, collect,’ also to MidLG. and MidDu. rake, AS. racu, f., E. rake, with a different gradation. The Teut. root rak, rëk, from Aryan reg, rog, is compared by some with Gr. ‘ὀ-ρέγειν, ‘to stretch out,’ by others, without reason, to Lat. legere, ‘to collect.’ See rechnen and recken.
rechnen, vb., ‘to reckon, estimate, deem,’ from MidHG. rëchennen, OHG. rëhhanôn, ‘to count, reckon, render an account’ (ë is proved by modern dials.). The assumed Goth. *rikanôn, which is also implied by AS. rëconian, E. to reckon, and likewise the equiv. LG. and Du. rekenen, is abnormally represented by the strange word rahnjan. The West Teut. *rëkanôn is connected, probably in the sense of ‘to compute, collect’ (comp. the meanings of lesen), with the root rak, ‘to collect’ (see Rechen), to which AS. ręččan (from rakjan), ‘to count up, compute, arrange,’ and AS. racu, OSax. raka, OIc. rahha, f., ‘speech, account, affair,’ also belong; so too geruhen.
recht, adj., ‘right, just,’ from MidHG. and OHG. rëht, adj., ‘straight, right, just, correct’; common Teut. rehta-, with equiv. meaning in all the dials., Goth. raihts, OIc. réttr, AS. riht, E. right, Du. regt, OSax. reht. Lat. rectus, Zend. rā̆́šta, ‘straight, right, correct,’ are also primit. allied. This adj., which has a particip. ending to-, is usually considered to be orig. a partic. of the root rē̆́g, ‘to direct,’ in Lat. regere; with this is also connected Sans. rjú, ‘straight, correct, just,’ superlat. rájišṭha, whereby the Aryan root rē̆́g is authenticated. — In the sense of ‘to or on the right’ (the antithesis of links, ‘to or on the left’), the adj. rarely occurs in MidHG., since in the earlier period an adj. primit. allied to Lat. dexter was used (comp. Goth. taíhswa-, OHG. zëso, MidHG. zëse, ‘to or on the right’). —
rechtfertigen, vb., ‘to justify, vindicate,’ from MidHG. rëht-vertigen, ‘to put into a right state, mend, justify.’ Allied to MidHG. rëhtvęrtîc, ‘just, upright.’
Reck, n., ‘wooden frame, rack,’ ModHG. only, prop. a LG. word. Comp. LG. and Du. rek, ‘pole, clothes-horse.’ Allied to recken.
Recke, m., ‘hero, champion, paladin,’ from MidHG. ręcke, m., ‘warrior, hero,’ orig., however, ‘knight-errant, adventurer, stranger’; comp. OHG. ręccho, earlier wręccho, m., OSax. wrękkio, m., ‘vagrant, outlaw, stranger,’ AS. wręčča, ‘fugitive, ​exile, unfortunate wretch,’ whence E. wretch. These interesting West Teut. cognates implying Goth. *wrakja are connected with ModHG. rächen, Goth. wrikan, ‘to persecute.’ ModHG. elend has a somewhat similar development.
recken, vb., ‘to stretch, rack, reach forth,’ from MidHG. ręcken, OHG. ręcchen, ‘to stretch out, extend,’ corresponding to Du. rekken, ‘to stretch out,’ whence E. to rack is borrowed, Goth. uf-rakjan, ‘to stretch out,’ to which Goth. rahtôn, ‘to proffer.’ From Teut. is derived Ital. recare, ‘to bring.’ The assumed direct connection between the common Teut. vb. and Goth. rikan, ‘to collect,’ lit. ‘to scrape together,’ must on account of the meaning be abandoned in favour of its relation to Lith. rążau, rążyti, ‘to stretch,’ Lat. por-rigo, ‘I stretch,’ and Gr. ὀρέγειν, ‘to stretch.’
Rede, f., ‘speech, discourse, oration,’ from MidHG. ręde, OHG. rędia, ręda, f., ‘account, speech and reply, speech, narrative, information’; corresponding to OSax. ręðia, f., ‘account,’ Goth. raþjô, f., ‘account, bill, number’; to this is allied Goth. garaþjan, ‘to count,’ and further the phonetic equivalent Lat. ratio, ‘computation, account, number,’ &c. From the same Teut. root raþ (pre-Teut. rat), signifying ‘number,’ hund-ert (which see) is derived. —
reden, vb., ‘to speak, talk, converse,’ from the equiv. MidHG. ręden, OHG. rędiôn, rędôn, also OHG. rędinôn, just as in the case of OHG. rędia the equiv. variant rędina occurs (comp. OSax. ręðion, ‘to speak’); from this OHG. rędinôn, is derived OHG. rędinâri, MidHG. rędenœre, ModHG. Redner, ‘orator.’
redlich, adj., ‘honest, candid,’ from MidHG. rędelîch, ‘eloquent, intelligent, upright, sturdy,’ OHG. rędilîh, ‘intelligent’; allied to OHG. rędia, MidHG. ręde, ‘understanding, account.’ See Rede.
Reff (1.), n., ‘dosser, framework of staves for carrying on the back,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rëf, n., OHG. rëf, n., for earlier Goth. *hrip; comp. OIc. hrip, n., ‘wooden frame for carrying coals or peat,’ MidE. and E. rip, ‘fish-basket.’ To the assumption that the word is primit. akin to Lat. corbis, ‘basket,’ there is no phonetic objection (see Korb and Krebe), yet the Alem. variants seem to imply a Teut. primary form *hrëfo-.
Reff (2.), n., also Reef, n., ‘reef,’ ModHG. only, a nautical term borrowed from LG.; comp. Du. and E. reef, also Du. reven, ‘to reef a sail.’ It is noteworthy that in OIc. rif, ‘rib,’ is used in the same sense. OIc. rifa, ‘to tack together,’ is probably most closely connected with the cognates.
reffen, vb., ‘to hatchel hemp or flax,’ from MidHG. reffen (a variant of raffen), ‘to tug, pluck.’ The ModHG. sense is probably based on a LG. word. Comp. Du. repel, ‘breaking flax,’ repelen, ‘to break flax,’ E. ripple, ‘hatchel.’
rege, adj., ‘astir, lively, active,’ ModHG. only; see regen.
Regel, f., ‘rule, regulation, principle,’ from MidHG. rëgel, rëgele, OHG. rëgula, f., ‘rule, especially of an order’; borrowed in this latter sense during the OHG. period when the monastic system was adopted (see Kloster, Münster, Abt, and Mönch), from Lat. rëgula, pronounced rĕgula in MidLat. (Lat. ê would be changed into OHG. î, see Feier, Kreide, and Pein). This pronunciation is also implied by AS. rĕgul, m., and OFr. riule, ‘rule’ (E. rule, from MidE. reule, is derived from OFr. reule, Lat. regula).
Regen, m., from the equiv. MidHG. rëgen, OHG. rëgan, m., ‘rain’; common to Teut. in the same sense; comp. the corresponding Goth. rign, n., OIc. regn, n., AS. rëgn, m., E. rain, Du. regen, OSax. rëgan. Primit, Teut. regna-, from pre-Teut. *reghno-, probably represents *mreghno-, if the word be connected with Gr. βρέχειν (for μρεχ-, μβρεχ-), ‘to wet’; Lat. rĭgare, ‘to water, wet,’ may belong to the same Aryan root mregh, The compound Regenbogen is found in all the Teut. languages; MidHG. rëgenboge, OHG. rëganbogo (Du., however, waterboog), E. rainbow, from AS. rëgnboga, OIc. regnboge, Goth. *rìgnbuga.
regen, vb., ‘to stir up, move, excite,’ from MidHG. ręgen, ‘to cause to project, set up, excite, move, awaken,’ a factitive of MidHG. rëgen, ‘to rise, tower,’ hence primit. allied to ragen. Akin also to MidHG. rœhe, ‘rigid, stiff.’ The Teut. root rag, rē̆h, of these cognates has not yet been found in the allied languages. See rege.
Reh, n., ‘roe, deer,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rêck (gen. rêhes), OHG. rêf (gen. rêhes), n.; the stem raiha- is common to Teut.; comp. Du. ree, AS. râhdeór, E. roe, OIc. rá; Goth. *ráih is by chance not recorded. Allied also to OHG. and OLG. rêho, m. (like AS. râ, m., from *râha), ‘roe,’ and reia (AS. rœ̂ge). f., ‘caprea’; for another fem. form see Ricke. Teut. raiha- from ​raiko- can scarcely be related to Sans. ṛçya, ‘buck of a species of antelopes.’ See further Hahnrei.
reiben, vb., ‘to rub, scratch, scour,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rîben, OHG. rîban, for an older *wrîban, whence Fr. riper, ‘to scrape’; comp. LG. wrîven, Du. wrijven, ‘to rub.’ The Teut. root wrī̆b has not yet been found in the other Aryan languages.
Reich, n., ‘empire, realm, kingdom,’ from MidHG. rîche, n., OHG. rîhhi, n., ‘country under sovereign sway, kingdom, Roman-German emperor, authority, dominion’; corresponding to Goth. reiki, n., ‘realm, dominion, power, authority,’ AS. rîče, n., ‘realm, dominion, reign,’ OSax. rîki, n., ‘realm, dominion, authority.’ A derivative with the suffix ja from Teut. *rîk-, which has been preserved only in Goth. as reiks, ‘ruler, chief’ (yet also in proper names like Friedrich and Heinrich). The rare OHG. str. vb. rîhhan, ‘to reign over, take possession of, be mighty,’ is prop. a derivative of *rîk-, ‘ruler,’ which again is a pre-Teut. loan-word from the equiv. Kelt. rîg (for another word, probably borrowed from Kelt. at the same period, see under Amt). The latter is primit. allied to Lat. rêg-em, Sans. râjan, ‘king’ (Aryan rég- would be orig. akin to Teut. rêk, râk), which are connected with the Aryan root rē̆́g, ‘to direct’ (see recht). See the following word.
reich, adj., ‘rich, copious, abounding,’ from MidHG. rîhhi, OHG. rîhhi, adj., ‘mighty, rich, splendid’; corresponding to OSax. rîki, ‘mighty, powerful,’ AS. rîce, ‘mighty, powerful,’ E. rich, Goth. reiks, ‘mighty, distinguished.’ From the G. adj. the equiv. Rom. cognates are derived; comp. Ital. ricco, Fr. riche, ‘rich.’ The comon Teut. adj. is a derivative of the root *rîk, ‘king,’ discussed under the preceding word, hence ‘mighty’ is the earlier meaning of the cognates; ‘royal’ (Lat. régius) is the orig. sense.
reichen, vb., ‘to reach, extend, suffice,’ from MidHG. ‘to arrive at, attain, proffer. suffice, extend,’ OHG. reihhen, ‘to proffer, extend’; corresponding to AS. rœ̂čan (from *raikjan), and the equiv. E. to reach. Its connection with Goth. rakjan, ‘to reach,’ rahtôn, ‘to proffer,’ is not probable, for phonetic reasons; and on account of its meaning, the word can scarcely be related to the cognates of *rîk, ‘ruler,’ mentioned under Reich.
Reif (1.), m., ‘encircling band, hoop, ring,’ from MidHG. and OHG. reif, m., ‘rope, cord, coiled rope, hoop, band, fetter, circle’; corresponding to Du. reep, ‘hoop, rope,’ AS. râp, n., ‘strap, cord, rope,’ E. rope, OIc. reip, n., ‘rope,’ Goth. skaudaraip, ‘shoe-thong,’ Gr. ῥαιβός, ‘crooked,’ is probably not allied, and is best compared with Goth. wraiqs, ‘crooked.’
Reif (2.), m., ‘rime, hoar-frost,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rîfe, OHG. rîfo, hrîfo, m.; corresponding to OLG. hrípo, Du. rijp, ‘rime, hoar-frost’ (Goth. *hreipa). The other dials. have a similarly sounding form, which is not, however, closely allied phonetically; OIc. hrím, AS. hrîm, n., E. rime, Du. rijm, with the same meaning; comp. MidHG. rîmeln, ‘to cover with hoar-frost.’ Does hrîm represent Teut. *hrîpma-, and thus belong to Reif? The comparison of AS. hrîm with Gr. κρῦμός, ‘frost,’ is untenable.
reif, adj., ‘ripe, mature,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rîfe, OHG. rîfi, adj.; corresponding to the equiv. OSax. rîpi, Du. rijp, AS. rîpe, E. ripe; a verbal adj. allied to AS. rī̆pan, ‘to reap’ (whence E. to reap), signifying ‘that which can be reaped.’ The Teut. root rîp, with the orig. sense ‘to cut, reap’ (comp. AS. rîfter, ‘sickle’), has not yet been found in the other Aryan languages.
Reigen, see Reihen (1).
Reihe, f., from the equiv. MidHG. rîke, f., ‘row, line,’ allied to MidHG. rîhen, OHG. rîhan, ‘to range, put on a thread, fix,’ to which MidHG. rige, f., ‘row, line,’ OHG. rī̆ga, ‘line, circular line,’ and Du. rij, ‘row,’ are akin. AS. râw, ‘row, line’ (Goth. *raiwa, for *raigwa, allied to *reihwan), whence E. row is also probably connected with these. The Teut. root rī̆hw, raihw, is related to Sans. rêkkâ, ‘streak, line’ (Aryan root rikh).
Reihen (1.), Reigen, m., ‘chain-dance, roundel, dance and song, frolic,’ from MidHG. reie, reige, m., ‘a sort of dance in a long row across the field’; origin obscure. Comp. also E. ray, ‘a sort of dance,’ the etymology of which is equally obscure.
Reihen (2.), m., ‘instep,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rîhe, m.; OHG. rîho, m., ‘calf of the leg, hock.’ An older *wrîho may be assumed, since ModHG. Rist seems to be allied.
reihen, vb., see Reihe.
Reiher, m., ‘heron,’ from the equiv. ​MidHG. reiger, m.; OHG. *reiar, *reijar, are by chance not recorded; comp. OSax. hreiera, Du. reiger, AS. hrâgra, m., ‘heron.’ OHG. heigir and MidHG. heiger, ‘heron,’ are abnormal forms.
Reim, m., ‘rhyme,’ from MidHG. rîm, m., ‘verse, line.’ To the assonant OHG. rîm, m., this sense is unknown; it signifies ‘row, succession, number,’ and these meanings are attached to the corresponding words in the other OTeut. dials.; comp. OSax. unrîm, ‘innumerable quantity,’ AS. rîm, ‘number.’ From these OTeut. words MidHG. rîm, ‘verse,’ must be dissociated, and connected rather with Lat. rhythmus (versus rhythmicus). The ModHG. word acquired the sense of Fr. rîme, ‘rhyme,’ in the time of Opitz. In the MidHG. period rîme binden was used for reimen, ‘to rhyme,’ and Gebäude by the Meistersingers for Reim. E. rhyme (MidE. rîme, ‘rhymed poem, poem, rhyme’) is also borrowed from OFr. rime.
rein, adj. ‘pure, clean, downright,’ from the equiv. MidHG. reine, OHG. reini, older hreini, adj.; corresponding to Goth. hrains, OIc. hreinn, OSax. hrêni, North Fris. rian, ‘pure’; in Du. and E., correspondences are wanting. The ModHG. sense (for which in Bav. and Swiss sauber is mostly used) is not found in the dials.; e.g., in Rhen.-Franc. and Swiss it signifies only ‘fine ground, sifted’ (of flour, sand, &c.), and belongs therefore to the Teut. root hrī̆, pre-Teut. krī̆, krei, ‘to winnow, sift,’ whence OHG. rîtara (see Reiter), Lat. cri-brum, Gr. κρί-νειν (for the adj. suffix -ni- see klein and schön). Hence ‘sifted’ may be assumed as the orig. sense of rein; comp. OLG. hrêncurni, ‘wheat.’
Reis (1.), m., ‘rice,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rîs, m. and n., which was borrowed from the equiv. MidLat. and Rom. rîso-, m. and n,; comp. Ital. riso, Fr. riz (whence also E. rice, Du. rijst); the latter is usually traced to Lat. and Gr. ὄρῦζον (also ὄρυζα), ‘rice,’ which is derived from Sans. vrîhi through an Iran. medium.
Reis (2.), ‘twig, sprout,’ from MidHG. rîs, OHG. rîs, earlier hris, n., ‘branch’; corresponding to Du. rijs, AS. hrîs, OIc. hrîs, m., ‘twig, branch’; Goth. *hreis, n., is wanting. The Teut. cognates (Zweig, ‘that which shakes, lives’) accord well with Goth. hrisjan, ‘to shake,’ OSax. hrissian, AS. hrissan, ‘to tremble, quake.’ —
Reisig, Reisich, n., ‘small twigs, brushwood,’ from MidHG. rîsech, OHG. rîsach, n.; the collective of Reis (OTeut. hrîsa-).
Reise, f., ‘journey, travel, voyage,’ from MidHG. reise, f., ‘departure, march, journey, military expedition,’ OHG. reisa, f., ‘departure’; allied to OHG. rîsan, MidHG. rîsen, ‘to mount, fall,’ OSax. rîsan, ‘to rise,’ AS. rîsan, E. to rise, and the equiv. Goth. ur-reisan. The idea of vertical, and espec. of upward motion, thus belongs every where to the root rī̆s; therefore Reise is lit. ‘departure.’ Further, MidHG. and ModHG. reisen is a derivative of the subst.; comp. also with the root rī̆s, E. to raise and (by the change of s into r) to rear.
Reisige, m., ‘trooper, horseman,’ from MidHG. reiec, adj., ‘mounted.’ —
Reisigen, pl., ‘horsemen,’ usually connected with MidHG. reise, ‘military expedition,’ yet it may be also a derivative of rîten, ‘to ride,’ since OHG. rîso, ‘horseman,’ occurs (rîþtan- gives rîssan-, rîsan-).
reißen, vb., ‘to tear, drag; sketch,’ from MidHG. rîȥen, OHG. rîȥan, earlier *wrîȥan, ‘to tear, tear in pieces, scratch, write’; corresponding to OSax. wrftan, ‘to tear in pieces, wound, write,’ AS. wrîtan, E. to write, OIc. ríta, ‘to write’; Goth. *wreitan, ‘to rend, write,’ is wanting, but is implied by Goth. writs, ‘streak, point.’ The various meanings of the cognates are explained by the manner in which runes were written or scratched on beech twigs. The Teut. root writ, which has been preserved also in ModHG. Riß, Ritz, ritzen, and reizen, has not yet been found in the non-Teut. languages.
reiten, vb., ‘to ride,’ from MidHG. rîten, OHG. rîtan, ‘to move on, set out, drive, ride’; corresponding to Du. rijden, ‘to ride, drive, skate,’ AS. rîdan, E. to ride, OIc. ríða, ‘to ride, travel; swing, hover.’ These words are based on the common Teut. rîdan, with the general sense of continued motion. This, as well as the fact that in Teut. there is no vb. used exclusively for ‘to ride,’ makes it probable that the art of riding is comparatively recent. Besides, in the allied languages no single term expresses this idea. It is also known that the art among the Greeks appears after the time of Homer, and that it was still unknown to the Indians of the Rig-Veda. It is true that the Teutons are known to us as horsemen from their earliest appearance in history, but the ​evolution of the word reiten (comp. Lat. equo vehi) proves that the art is of recent origin. The Teut. verbal stem rī̆d, for pre-Teut. rī̆dh, reidh, corresponds to OIr. ríad, ‘driving, riding’ (ríadaim, ‘I drive’), OGall. rêda, ‘waggon’ (comp. Gr. ἔ-ριθος, ‘messenger, servant’?). The general meaning is seen also in AS. râd, f., ‘journey, expedition,’ E. road, as well as in the cognates under bereit.
Reiter, f., ‘coarse sieve, riddle,’ from MidHG. rîter, OHG. rîtara, f., ‘sieve,’ for earlier *hrîtara; corresponding to AS. hrîdder, f., ‘sieve’ whence E. riddle. For the Teut. root hrî in the sense of ‘to sift, winnow,’ see rein. The OHG. suffix tara, from pre-Teut. thrâ (Goth. *hrei-dra, f.), corresponds to -brum for -thrum in Lat. cribrum (br from thr, as in ruber, ἐρυθρός), equiv. to OIr. críathar, ‘sieve’; Aryan kreithro- may be assumed. ModHG. Räder, ‘sieve,’ is not connected with this word.
reizen, vb., ‘to stimulate, excite, charm,’ from MidHG. reitzen, reiȥen, OHG. reizzen, reiȥen, ‘to charm, entice, lead astray’; the form with tz is due to Goth. tj. Apparently a factitive of reißen, hence lit. ‘to cause to drag, make one come out of oneself’; comp. OIc. reita, ‘to stir up, irritate.’ Comp. beizen, heizen.
renken, vb., ‘to twist, wrench,’ from MidHG. ręnken, OHG. ręnchen, ‘to turn this way and that,’ for an earlier *wrankjan (from the stem rank, ‘to dislocate,’ are derived the Rom. cognates, Ital. ranco, ‘lame,’ rancare, ‘to halt’). AS. wręnč, ‘bend, artifice,’ AS. wręnčan, ‘to turn,’ E. wrench, subst. and vb. The corresponding vb. is ringen, Teut. wringan; the k of renken (probably for kk) compared with the g of ringen resembles the variation in bücken and biegen, lecken and Goth. bilaigôn, &c. With the pre-Teut. root wrenk (wreng) comp. Gr. ῥέμβω, ‘to turn,’ ῥόμβος, ‘top.’ Comp. Rank.
rennen, vb., ‘to run,’ from MidHG. and OHG. rennen, prop. ‘to cause to flow, chase, drive,’ espec. ‘to make a horse leap, burst,’ hence the reflexive meaning of the ModHG. word; corresponding to OSax. rennian, Goth. rannjan, which are factitives of rinnen.
Renntier, n., ‘reindeer,’ ModHG. only, from the equiv. Swed. ren, which is derived from OIc. hreinn (AS. hrân), whence also Du. rendier, E. reindeer; from the same source probably are Ital. rangifero, Fr. rangier (and renne), ‘reindeer.’ OIc. hreinn is usually considered to be a Finn. and Lapp. loan-word (raingo).
Rente, f., ‘rent, rental,’ from MidHG. rënte, ‘income, produce, advantage; contrivance.’ Borrowed from Fr. rente, MidLat. renta, Ital. rendita, whence even in OHG. rentôn, ‘to count up.’
Rest, m., ‘rest, remnant, remains,’ ModHG. only, from Fr. reste, m.
retten, vb., ‘to rescue, save,’ from MidHG. and OHG. rętten, ‘to snatch from, rescue’; comp. Du. redden, OFris. hredda, AS. hręddan, ‘to snatch from, set free,’ E. to rid; Goth. *hradjan may be assumed. The Teut. root hrad, from pre-Teut. krath, corresponds to the Sans. root çrath, ‘to let go’ (pres. çratháyâmi).
Rettich, Rettig, m., ‘radish,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rętich, rœtich, OHG. rętih, rā̆tī̆h, m.; corresponding to AS. rœdič; borrowed from Lat. râdîc-em (nom. râdix), which, as the HG. guttural indicates, is found with the Teut. accent prior to the OHG. period. E. radish is a later loanword from Fr. radis.
Reue, f., ‘repentance, from MidHG. riuwe, f., ‘sadness, pain, mourning, repentance,’ OHG. riuwa, earlier hriuwa, f.; corresponding to Du. rout, AS. hreów, ‘grief, mourning, repentance.’ Allied to an obsolete OHG. vb. hriuwan, MidHG. riuwen, ‘to feel pain, be sorry’; corresponding to AS. hreówan, ‘to vex, grieve,’ E. to rue, to which ruth is akin; OIc. hryggva, ‘to sadden.’ Goth. *hriggwan wanting. The Teut. hrū̆, ‘to be sad, sadden,’ has no correspondences in the other Aryan languages.
Reuse, f., ‘weir-basket, weel,’ from MidHG. riuse, OHG. rûsa, rûssa, f., ‘weel, fish-basket’ (from Goth. *rûsjô); a graded and lengthened form of Goth. raus (see Rohr). Hence Reuse means lit. ‘that which is made of reeds.’
reuten, vb., ‘to root out, grub up, from MidHG. riuten, ‘to root out, make fertile’; to this is allied OHG. riuti, MidHG. riute, n., ‘land made fertile by uprooting,’ OIc. ryðja, ‘to make fertile.’ Whether OHG. riostar, riostra, MidHG. riester, ‘plough, plough-handle,’ dial. Riester, is connected with this word is uncertain. See roden.
Reuter, m., ‘trooper,’ first occurs in early ModHG., formed from Du. ruiter, ‘trooper,’ which has nothing to do with reiten, ‘to ride.’ The word is based rather on MidLat. ruptarii (for ruptuarii), rutarii (ex Gallica pronuntiatione); thus were ​“dicti quidam praedones sub XI. saeculum ex rusticis collecti ac conflati qui provincias populabantur et interdum militiae principum sese addicebant”: “these people were often on horseback.” Thus Du. ruiter could easily acquire the meaning ‘horseman’; comp. Du. ruiten, ‘to plunder.’ See Rotte.
Rhabarber, m., ‘rhubarb,’ ModHG. only, from Ital. rabarbaro, Fr. rhubarbe; also earlier ModHG. Rhapontif, from Fr. rapontique. The word is based on the MidLat. ra-, reu-ponticum, -barbarum, also radix pontica, -barbara, ‘a plant growing on the banks of the Volga.’
Rhede, f., ‘roadstead, road,’ ModHG. only, from LG.; comp. Du. ree, reede, MidE. râde, E. road; from the E. class are derived the equiv. Ital. rada and Fr. rade. Orig. sense probably ‘place where ships are equipped’; allied to the Teut. root raid, ‘to prepare’; comp. OIc. reiðe, ‘ship's equipment.’ See bereit.
ribbeln, vb., ‘to rub briskly, scour,’ ModHG. only, intensive of reiben.
richten, vb., ‘to regulate, direct, judge, condemn,’ from MidHG. and OHG. rihten, ‘to set right,’ denomin. from recht.
Ricke, f., ‘doe,’ by chance not recorded only in ModHG.; MidHG. *riche and OHG. *riccha are wanting, but may be assumed from the archaic form of ModHG. Ricke (Swiss rikχe). In Goth. *rikki, ‘doe,’ would be a derivative fem. form of Reh (raiha-).
riechen, vb., ‘to smell,’ from MidHG. riechen, OHG. riohhan, str. vb., ‘to smoke, steam, emit vapour, smell’; comp. Du. ruiken, rieken, ‘to smell,’ AS. reócan, ‘to smoke, emit vapour,’ OIc. rjúka, ‘to smoke, exhale.’ The Teut. root rū̆k signified ‘to smoke’; see further under Rauch and Geruch. In the non-Teut. languages the stem is not found.
Riefe, f., ‘furrow in wood, stone, &c.,’ ModHG. only, from LG.; comp. AS. geriflian, ‘to wrinkle,’ with which E. rifle, lit. ‘the fluted weapon,’ and rivel, ‘wrinkle, fold,’ are connected. OIc. rifa, f., ‘slit, rift,’ allied to OIc. rífa, ‘to tear to pieces, slit.’
Riege, f., ‘row,’ from MidHG. rige, OHG. rī̆ga, f., ‘line, row’ (Goth. *riga, f., is wanting); allied to Reihe, OHG. rîhan, ‘to form in a row.’ From G. are derived Ital. riga, ‘line, strip,’ and rigoletto, ‘chain-dance.’
Riegel, m., ‘rail, bar, bolt,’ from MidHG. rigel, OHG. rigil, m., ‘crossbar for fastening’; corresponding to MidE. and E. rail, Du. and Swed. regel, ‘bolt.’ It is scarcely allied to OHG. rîhan, ‘to form in a row.’
Riemen, m., ‘strap, thong, strong,’ from MidHG. rieme, OHG. riomo, m., ‘band, girdle, strap’; corresponding to OSax. riomo, m., Du. riem, AS. reóma, ‘strap’; Goth. *riuma, m., is wanting. Gr. ῥῦμα, ‘towing-line, rope,’ is primit. allied, and hence the Aryan root was probably rū̆ (Gr. ἐρύω), ‘to draw.’
Ries, n., ‘ream,’ from the equiv. late MidHG. ris (riȥ, rist), m., f. and n.; in Du. riem, E. ream. These late Teut. cognates are borrowed from Rom.; comp. the equiv. MidLat. and Ital. risma, Fr. rame. It is true that the MidHG. form still requires further explanation. The ultimate source of MidLat. and Ital. risma is Arab. rizma, ‘bale, bundle,’ espec. ‘packing-paper.’
Riese, m., ‘giant,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rise, OHG. risi, riso, m.; comp. OSax. wrisi-lîc, ‘gigantic,’ OLG. wrisil, Du. reus, ‘giant.’ Goth. *wrisi-, or rather *wrisjan-, is wanting. It seems primit. allied to Sans. vṛšan, ‘mighty, manly, strong,’ to which OIr. fairsing, ‘great, powerful,’ is also probably akin.
Riester, m.,. ‘wrist, instep, patch (on a shoe),’ ModHG. only; probably a primit. word, but of obscure origin. This word, which is unknown to Bav., has, according to Swiss riešter, rieštere, m. and f., a genuine diphthong equiv. to Goth. iu; hence MidHG. altriuȥe, riuȥe, ‘cobbler,’ preserved in ModHG. dials. as Altreise, ‘second-hand dealer,’ is perhaps allied.
Rießling, m., ‘small white field-grape,’ ModHG. only; perhaps a derivative of Rieß, ‘Rhætia’ (Tyrol), so that Rießling is lit. ‘Rhætian’ (wine).
Riet (in the LG. form Nied), n., ‘reed,’ from the equiv. MidHG. riet, OHG. riot, earlier hriot, n.; common to West Teut. in the same sense; comp. OSax. hreod, Du. riet, AS. hreód, E. reed. Goth. *hriuda is wanting. Pre-Teut. *kreudho- is not found in the other groups.
Riff, n., ‘reef,’ ModHG. only, from LG. riff, reff; comp. the equiv. Du. rif, n., E. reef, and OIc. rif. The latter is equiv. in sound to Goth. rif, ‘rib,’ but this is probably only an accident. It has been thought to be allied to OIc. rífa, ‘to slit, split,’ rifa, ‘rift, split’; hence probably Riff means lit. ‘the dissevered, cleft, mass of rock,’ then ‘reef.’
​ Riffel, Rüffel, n., ‘flax-comb, ripple; censure,’ probably allied to MidHG. riffeln, rifeln, ‘to comb or hatchel flax,’ riffel, ‘mattock,’ OHG. riffila, ‘saw.’ G. has similar figurative terms for ‘to find fault with, inveigh against’ (similar to etwas durchecheln, ‘to censure’). Comp. reffen.
Rind, n., ‘horned cattle,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rint (gen. rindes), OHG. rind, earlier hrind, n.; Goth. *hrinþis, n., is wanting; AS. hrŷþer (hrîðer, hrîð-), MidE. rother, Du. rund, ‘horned cattle,’ imply Goth. *hrunþis, a graded variant allied to Rind, Goth. *hrinþis. OHG. hrind is usually connected, like Hirsch, with the stem ker, ‘horn, horned’ (see Horn), appearing in Gr. κέρας, and also with Gr. κριός, ‘ram.’ The G. word is, however, probably not allied to these words.
Rinde, f., ‘rind, crust, bark,’ from MidHG. rinde, OHG. rinta, f., ‘rind of trees, crust,’ also (rarely) ‘bread-crust’; corresponding to AS. rind, E. rind. Its kinship with Rand and Ramst is undoubted; their common root seems to be rem, ram, ‘to cease, end’; comp. espec. AS. reoma, rima, E. rim. Some etymologists connect it with Goth. rimis, ‘repose’; comp. Sans. ram, ‘to cease, rest.’
Ring, m., ‘ring, circle, link,’ from MidHG. rinc (gen. ringes), OHG. ring, earlier hring, m.. ‘ring, hoop, circular object’; comp. OSax. hring, Du. ring, AS. hring, E. ring, OIc. hringr, m. The common Teut. word, which implies a casually non-existent Goth. *hriggs, denoted a circle, and everything of a circular form. Pre-Teut. krengho- appears also in the corresponding OSlov. krągŭ, m., ‘circle,’ krąglŭ, ‘round.’ From the Teut. word, which also signifies ‘assembly’ (grouped in a circle), are derived the Rom. cognates, Ital. aringo, ‘rostrum,’ Fr. harangue, ‘public speech,’ and Fr. rang.
Ringel, m., ‘ringlet, curl,’ dimin. of the preceding word; MidHG. ringele, ‘marigold,’ OHG. ringila, f., ‘marigold, heliotrope.’
ringen, vb., ‘to encircle; wring, wrestle, strive,’ from MidHG. ringen, ‘to move to and fro, exert oneself, wind,’ OHG. ringan, from an earlier *wringan; comp. Du. wringen, ‘to wring, squeeze,’ AS. wringan, E. to wring; Goth. *wriggan is implied by wruggô, ‘snare.’ The root wring, identical with the root wrank (see renken), meant orig. ‘to turn in a winding manner, move with effort.’ With this are connected ModHG. Ranke, E. wrong, MidE. wrang, ‘bent, perverted, wrong’ (OIc. rangr, ‘bent, wrong,’ ModDu. wrang, ‘sour, bitter’), and E. to wrangle. Perhaps würgen (root wrg) is allied; E. to ring is, however, not connected, since it comes from AS. hringan.
Rinken, ‘large ring, buckle,’ an UpG. word, from MidHG. rinke, m. and f., ‘buckle, clasp,’ whence MidHG. rinkel, ‘small buckle’; an old derivative of Ring (OHG. rinka, from the primit. form *hringjôn).
Rinne, f., ‘channel, gutter, groove,’ from MidHG. rinne, f., OHG. rinna, f., ‘watercourse,’ MidHG. also ‘gutter, eavestrough.’ Comp. Goth. rinnô, f., ‘brook,’ and AS. rynele, E. rindle. Connected with the following word.
rinnen, vb., ‘to run, flow, leak, drop, from MidHG. rinnen, OHG. rinnan, ‘to flow, swim, run.’ This vb. is common to Teut. in the same sense; Goth. rinnan, AS. irnan, E. to run, Du. runnen, OSax. rinnan; the orig. sense of all these is ‘to move on rapidly.’ The nn of Goth. rinnan is usually regarded as a part of the pres. stem for no (comp. Gr. δάκνω, Lat. sper-no), and a root ren, run, is assumed, which is preserved in AS. ryne (from *runi-).
Rippe (Luther, Riebe), f., ‘rib,’ from MidHG. rippe (ribe), n. and f., OHG. rippa, f., rippi (ribi), n. ‘rib’; corresponding to the equiv. Du. rib, ribbe, AS. ribb, E. rib, OIc. rif; Goth. *ribi, n. (plur. *ribja), is by chance not recorded. Teut. ribja-, from pre-Teut. rebhyo-, is cognate with ModHG. Rebe and OSlov. rebro, n., ‘rib,’ from rebhro-. See Rebe, where ‘entwining’ is deduced as the prim. meaning of Rippe.
Rispe, f., ‘panicle,’ from MidHG. rispe, ‘f., ‘branches, bushes,’ akin to OHG. hrispahi, n., ‘bushes’; of obscure origin. The derivation from OHG. hrëspan, MidHG. rëspen, ‘to pluck, gather,’ is not quite satisfactory.
Rist, m., ‘wrist, instep; withers,’ from MidHG. rist, riste, m., f., and n., ‘wrist, instep’; OHG. *rist, as well as the implied earlier *wrist, are by chance not recorded; comp. Du. wrist (dial. Frist), AS. wyrst, wrist, E. wrist, OFris. riust, wirst, ‘wrist, ankle,’ OIc. rist, f., ‘instep’; Goth. *wrists is not recorded. The primit. meaning of the cognates is usually assumed to be ‘turning-point,’ Rist being referred to a ​Teut. root wrī̆þ, ‘to turn,’ which has been reserved in E. to writhe, as well as in ModHG. Reitel, ‘packing-stick’ (MidHG. reitel for an earlier *wreitel), Other etymologists connect the word with Gr. ῥίζα (from *ϝρισδα?), ‘root.’ Yet OHG. rîho (for earlier *wrîho), ModHG. Reihen, is probably most closely connected with the cognates of Rist, so that Goth. *wristi- would represent wrihsti-, and thus imply an Aryan root wrī̆k.
Riß, m., ‘cleft, gap, schism,’ from MidHG. riȥ, m., ‘cleft’; the corresponding OHG. riȥ, m., in contrast to the MidHG. and ModHG. which are connected with the vb. reißen, preserves the earlier meaning ‘letter’ (Goth. writs, ‘stroke, point’), which connects it with Goth. wrîtan, ‘to write, draw’ (see reißen). Comp., moreover, Riß, in the earlier sense of ‘sketch.’
Ritt, m., ‘ride,’ first occurs in early ModHG.; a derivative of reiten.
Ritten, m., ‘fever,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rite, ritte, OHG. rito, ritto, m., for an earlier *hriþjo, ‘fever’; so too AS. hriþa, m., ‘fever’; allied to OHG. rîdon, MidHG. rîden, ‘to shiver,’ AS. hriþian, ‘to shiver in a fever,’ OHG. rîdo, ‘shivering,’ AS. hriþ, ‘storm.’ The root hrī̆þ, pre-Teut. krī̆t, ‘to move wildly,’ appears also in OIr. crith, ‘shivering.’
Ritter, n., ‘chevalier, knight,’ from MidHG. ritter, riter, m., ‘horseman, knight’ (also rîtœre); the form with tt is due to a confusion with OHG. ritto, ‘horseman’ (from ridjo). See reiten and Reuter.
Ritze, f., ‘rift, rent,’ from MidHG. riz (gen. ritzes), m., ‘rift, wound,’ like rißen, from MidHG. ritzen, ‘to scratch, wound,’ OHG. rizzen, rizzân; allied to reißen.
Robbe, f., ‘sea-dog, seal,’ borrowed from LG., like most ModHG. words with a medial bb (Ebbe, Krabbe, &c.); comp. Du. rob, m., ‘sea-dog, seal’; the equiv. Scand. kobbi, similar in sound (akin to kópr, ‘young sea-dog’), is not allied. The Teut. word, Goth. *silha- (comp. AS. seolh, E. seal, OHG. sëlah, OIc. selr) became obsolete in G. at an early period. The source and history of the LG. term is obscure.
Roche (1.), m., ‘ray, thornback,’ from LG. ruche; comp. the equiv. Du. roch, rog, AS. reohha, *rohha, whence MidE. reihe, rouhe; also E. roach, rocke? (E. ray is derived from Lat. raja, whence also Ital. raja, Fr. raie).
Roche (2.), m., ‘castle’ (at chess), from the equiv. MidHG. roch, n.; borrowed with chess-playing from the Fr. (roc, whence also MidE. and E. rook). The ultimate source is Pers. rukh, rokh, ‘archer mounted on an elephant’ (at chess), Deriv. rochieren.
röcheln, vb., ‘to rattle,’ from MidHG. rücheln, rüheln, ‘to neigh, roar, rattle’; allied to OHG. rohôn, MidHG. rohen, ‘to grunt, roar’; comp. Du. rogchelen, ‘to spit out.’ The Teut. root ruh, ruhh, preserved in these words, has been connected with the Slav. root ryk (from rûk); comp. OSlov. rykati, ryknąti, ‘to roar’ (Lett. ŕūkt), to which has to be added perhaps the Gr.-Lat. root rug in rugire, ‘to roar,’ ὀρυγμός, ‘roaring.’
Rock, m., ‘coat, robe, petticoat,’ from MidHG. roc (gen. rockes), OHG. rocch, m., ‘outer garment, coat’; corresponding to the equiv. Du. rok, OFris. rok, AS. rocc, OIc. rokkr; the implied Goth. *rukka- is wanting. From the Teut. cognates is derived the Rom. class, Fr. rochet, ‘surplice’ (MidLat. roccus, ‘coat’), which again passed into E. (rochet). The early history of the Teut. cognates is obscure; allied to Rocken?.
Rocken, m., ‘distaff,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rocke, OHG. roccho, m.; common to Teut. in the same sense; comp. Du. rok, rocken, AS. *rocca, MidE. rocke, E. rock, OIc. rokkr; Goth. *rukka is by chance not recorded. The Teut. word passed into Rom.; comp. Ital. rocca, ‘distaff.’ It may be doubted whether Recken and Rock are derived from an old root rak, ‘to spin,’ which does not occur elsewhere. At any rate, Rocken is not connected with the equiv. LG. wocken, since the cognates of Rocken, according to the LG. and E. terms, have not lost an initial w.
reden, vb., ‘to root out,’ from MidHG. roden, the MidG. and LG. variant of riuten, ‘to root out.’
Rodomontade, f., ‘boasting, bluster, swaggering,’ from the equiv. Fr. rodomontade, Ital. rodomondata, f. Rodomonte is derived from Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, and is the name of a boastful Moorish hero; it first appears in Boiardo's Orlando Innamorata, and means lit. ‘roller of mountains, one who boasts that he can roll away mountains.’
Rogen, m., ‘roe, spawn,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rogen, OHG. rogan, m., for an earlier *hrogan, mm.; also MidHG. roge, OHG. rogo, m.; corresponding to the equiv. OIc. hrogn, n. plur., AS. *hrogn, E. roan, ​roe. Goth. *hrugna- is by chance not recorded. The true source of the word cannot be found; some connect it with AS. hrog, ‘nasal mucus,’ others with Gr. κρόκη, ‘pebble,’ Sans. çarkara, ‘gravel.’
Roggen, m., for the genuine HG. Rocke, Rocken (in Bav. and Hess., Korn is almost invariably used), ‘rye.’ The gg of the ModHG. written form is either LG. or Swiss (see Egge in list of corrections); in MidHG. rocke, OHG. rocko, m., ‘rye, secale’; corresponding to OSax. roggo, Du. rogge. UpG., as well as LG. and Fris., imply the prim. form *rŭggn-. On the other hand, E. and Scand. assume a Goth. *rŭgi-; comp. AS. ryge, E. rye, and the equiv. OIc. rŭgr. Pre-Teut. rughi- is proved by Lith. rugýs, ‘rye-corn’ (rugei, pl., ‘rye’), OSlov. rŭżĭ, ‘rye’ (Gr. ὄρυζα, ‘rice,’ from Sans. vrĭhi, is not allied). Among the East Aryans this term is wanting.
roh, adj., ‘rude, raw, crude, rough,’ from MidHG. rô (infl. râwer), OHG. rô (insl. râwêr), ‘raw, uncooked, rude’ (for earlier hrū̆wa-); comp. the equiv. OSax. hrâ, Du. raauw, AS. hreá, E. raw, OIc. hrár (for *hrávr), ‘raw, uncooked.’ This adj., which is wanting in Goth. (*hrawa-, *hrêwa-), points to a Teut. root hrū̆, from pre-Teut. krū̆, which appears in numerous forms, such as Lat. cruor, cruentas, crûdus (for *cruvidus?), Gr. κρέας, ‘flesh,’ Sans. kravis, ‘raw meat,’ Sans. krûras, ‘bloody,’ OSlov. krŭvi, Lith. kraújas, ‘blood.’
Rohr, n., ‘reed, cane, rush,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. rôr (gen. rôres), n.; an earlier *rauza is to be assumed; comp. Goth. raus, n., OIc. reyr, m., Du. roer, ‘reed’ (wanting in OSax., AS., and E.). The Teut. form in s, closely allied to the Goth., passed into Rom.; comp. Fr. roseau, ‘creed’ and the equiv. Prov. raus. The form rausa-, with which Reuse and Röhre (Rost, (1)?) are also connected, is related to Lat. ruscum, ‘butcher's broom’; comp. Moos with Lat. muscus.
Rohrdommel, f., ‘bittern,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rôrtumel, m.; the word has been variously corrupted in OHG. and MidHG., finally resulting in the ModHG. form. In OHG. occur horo-tukel, horotumil, lit. ‘mud, slime tumbler’ (*rôrtumil is not found in OHG.). MidDu. roesdomel; AS. has a remarkable form, râradumbla, with the same meaning. The wide diffusion of these cognates, transformed in various ways by popular etymology, but closely resembling one another in sound, leaves to doubt as to their genuine Teut. origin. The usual assumption that they are all corruptions of Lat. crecopulus, cretobolus, onocrotalus won't bear investigation.
Röhre, f., ‘tube, pipe, flue,’ from MidHG. rœre, OHG. rôra, rôrra, from an earlier rôrea, f., ‘reed stalk, hollow stalk, reed’; a derivative of Rehr, OHG. rôr (Goth. *rauzjô, f., is wanting); hence Röhre is lit. ‘the reed-shaped.’
röhren, vb., ‘to bellow,’ from MidHG. rêren, OHG. rêrên, ‘to bleat, roar’; corresponding to AS. rârian, E. to roar.
Rolle, f., ‘roll, roller, pulley, scroll, actor's part,’ from MidHG. rolle, rulle, f., ‘rotulus,’ also rodel, rottel, m. and f., ‘scroll, list, document’; formed from MidLat. rotulus, rotula, or rather the corresponding Rom. cognates. Comp. Ital. rotolo, rullo, Fr. rôle; whence also E. to roll, MidHG. and ModHG. rollen, Fr. rouler, Ital. rullare.
Römer, m., ‘green, bulging wine-glass; rummer’ (‘Roman glass’?).
rösche, adj., ‘prompt, lively, alert, fresh,’ an UpG. word (Bav. and Swiss rœ̂š, ‘lively, precipitons, harsh’), from MidHG. rôsch, rœsche, OHG. rôsc, rôsci, ‘nimble, hasty, fresh’; cognate terms from which we may infer the prim. form (Goth. rausqa-?) are entirely wanting. The connection of the word with rasch is uncertain.
Rose, f., ‘rose,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rôse, OHG. rôsa, f.; comp. the equiv. Du. roos, AS. rŏse, E. rose; adopted in the OHG. period from Lat. rŏsa. Had the word been borrowed earlier, the Lat. quantity would have been retained in G. (in Lilie, from Lat. lîlia, the vowel was shortened, because lĭlja was the pronunciation in MidLat.). Lat. *rôsa is, however, implied also by the Rom. cognates, Ital. rosa and Fr. rose. A Lat. ŏ must have led in OHG. to the form *ruosa; comp. OHG. scuola, ‘school,’ from Lat. scŏla.
Rosine, f., ‘raisin,’ from the equiv. late MidHG. rôsîne (rasin), f.; the latter, like MidLat. rosina, is a corruption of Fr. raisin (sec, ‘raisin’), which, with Ital. racimolo, ‘bunch of grapes,’ is due to. Lat. racêmus, ‘berry’; comp. further Du. rozijn, razijn, E. raisin.
Rosmarin, m., ‘rosemary,’ first occurs in early ModHG., formed from the equiv. Lat. rosmarinus, whence also Du. rozemarijn and MidE. rosmarine, E. rosemary (implying a connection with Mary); the word in ​G. and E. is instinctively connected with Rose, ‘rose.’
Rost (1.), m., ‘grate, gridiron,’ from MidHG. rôst, m., ‘grate, funeral pile, glow, fire,’ OHG. rôst, m., rôsta, f., ‘small gridiron, frying-pan,’ The current derivation from Rohr, in which case we should have to assume ‘iron grating’ as the primit. sense of Rost, does not satisfy the meaning (OHG. rôstpfanna, MidHG. rôstpfannue). Derivative rösten, ‘to roast, broil,’ MidHG. rœsten, OHG. rôsten, ‘to lay on the gridiron, roast’; hence the Rom. cognates, Ital. arrostir, ‘to roast,’ Fr. rôtir, and from this again comes E. to roast.
Rost (2.), m., ‘rust, mildew, blight,’ from MidHG. and OHG. rost, m., ‘rust, aerugo, rubigo’; corresponding to the equiv. OSax. rost, Du. roest, AS. rûst, E. rust (Scotch roost), For Goth. *rū̆sta-, ‘rust,’ nidwa, f., was used. Rost belongs to the Teut. root rū̆d (pre-Teut. rudh), ‘to be red,’ appearing in ModHG. rot. From the same root was formed the equiv. OHG. rosamo, which assumed early in MidHG. the meaning ‘freckle,’ as well as OIc. ryð, n., MidHG. rot, m. and n., OSlov. rŭzda (for rudja), f., Lith. rûdis (rudė́ti, ‘to rust’), Lat. robigo, ‘rust’; also Lett. rûsa, ‘rust,’ rusta, ‘brown colour.’
rösten (1.), see under Rost (1).
rosten (2.), vb., ‘to steep, water-rot flax or hemp,’ from MidHG. rœȥen, rœtzen, ‘to rot, cause to rot,’ implying a connection with rösten (1); allied to rôȥ, adj., ‘mellow, soft,’ rôȥȥen, ‘to rot,’ and OHG. rôȥȥên, ‘to rot.’ From a Teut. root raut, ‘to rot’; comp. Du. rot, ‘rotten, decayed,’ OSax. rôtôn, ‘to rot,’ AS. rotian, E. to rot, to ret (from AS. *reátian?), ‘to steep, water-rot,’ OIc. rotenn, ‘putrefied’; see rotten (2).
Roß (1.), n., ‘horse, steed,’ from MidHG. and OHG. ros (gen. rosses), n., ‘horse,’ espec. ‘charger,’ for earlier *hrossa-; comp. OSax. hross, Du. ros, AS. hors, E. horse, OIc. hross, n., ‘horse.’ Goth. *hrussa- is wanting, the term used being OAryan aíhwa- (OSax. ëhu, AS. eoh, OIc. jór), equiv. to Lat. equus, Gr. ἵππος, Sans. áçva-s (Lith. aszvà, ‘mare’). In MidHG. the term Pferd appears; Roß is still used almost exclusively in UpG. with the general sense of ‘horse.’ From the Teut. cognates is derived the Rom. term, Fr. rosse, ‘sorry horse, jade,’ The origin of Teut. hrussa- is uncertain; as far as the meaning is concerned, it may be compared, as is usually done, with Lat. currere for *curs-ere, *cṛs-ere, root kṛs, ‘to run,’ or with the Sans. root kûrd, ‘to leap,’ with which OIc. hress, ‘quick,’ may also be connected. For another derivation see rüsten —
Roßtäuscher, m., ‘horse-dealer,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rostûscher, rostiuscher, m. (see tauschen), retains the orig. sense of the old word Roß.
Roß (2.), n., ‘honeycomb,’ from the equiv. MidHG. râȥ, râȥe, f.; OHG. *râȥa is by chance not recorded; corresponding to OLG. râta, ‘favus,’ Du. raat, f., ‘virgin honey’; undoubtedly a genuine Teut. term. The derivation from Lat. radius is unfounded; OFr. raie de miel (from raie, ‘ray,’ radius) is due to the influence of the Teut. word, in Goth. *rêta, f., which cannot, however, be traced farther back.
rot, adj., ‘red,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. rôt, adj.; corresponding to the equiv. Goth. rauþs, OIc. rauðr, AS. reád, E. red (AS. also reód, OIc. rjóðr, ‘red’), Du. rood, OSax. rôd. Goth. and common Teut. rauda-, from pre-Teut. roudho-, is a graded form of the widely-diffused Aryan root rū̆dh, ‘to be red,’ which appears also in ModHG. Rost (2), as well as in OHG. rutichôn, ‘to be reddish,’ MidHG. rō̆ten, ‘to redden,’ and MidHG. rŏt, ‘red’; also in Goth. gariudjô, ‘shamefacedness,’ and perhaps Goth. *bi-rusnjan, ‘to honour,’ AS. rudu, ‘redness,’ and rûd, ‘red,’ E. rud (AS. rudduc, E. ruddock). In the non-Teut. languages, besides the words adduced under Rost (2), the following are the principal cognates: Sans. rudhirá-s, ‘red,’ rôhita, ‘red’ (for *rôdhita); Gr. ἐρυθρός, ‘red,’ ἔρευθος, ‘redness, flush,’ ἐρυσίπελας, ‘erysipelas,’ ἐρεύθω, ‘to redden’ (OIc. rjóða; AS. reódan, ‘to redden, kill’); Lat. ruber (rubro- for *rudhro-, Gr. ἐρυθρός, like barba for *bardhâ, see Bart), rufus, ‘red,’ rubidus, ‘dark red,’ rubeo, ‘to blush with shame’; OSlov. rŭdrŭ, ‘red,’ rŭděti sę, ‘to blush’; Lith. rùdas, rùsvas, ‘reddish brown,’ raúdas, raudónas, ‘red,’ raudà, ‘red colour.’ It is noteworthy that red in several of these languages is a sign of shame. Moreover, the Teut. cognates may be explained from an Aryan root rut, which appears also in Lat. rŭt-ilus, ‘reddish.’ — Derivatives Rötel, m., ‘red chalk,’ from MidHG. rœtel, rœtelstein, m., E. ruddle; comp. the equiv. Lat. rubrĭca, from ruber. — Röteln, plur., ‘measles.’ —
Rotwelsch, ‘jargon, cant,’ from MidHG. rôtwalsch, ‘sharpers' language, gibberish,’ allied to rôt, ‘red-haired, deceptive’? rôt, ​‘false, cunning,’ frequently occurs in MidHG.
Rotte, f., from the equiv. MidHG. rotte, rote, f., ‘troop, detachment’; borrowed in the MidHG. period from OFr. rote, ‘division of an army, troop,’ whence also E. rout (MidE. route), Du. rot. The OFr. term is derived from MidLat. rutta, rupta; comp. Reuter.
rotten (1.), vb., ‘to root out,’ formed from the earlier MidG. roten, a variant of MidHG. riuten, ‘to root out’; comp. Bav. rieden, Swiss ussrū̆de, ‘to root out.’
rotten (2.), vb., ‘to cause to rot or decay, ModHG. only, from the equiv. LG. and Du. rotten; see rösten (2).
Rotz, m., ‘mucus, snot,’ from the equiv. MidHG. roz, rotz, OHG. roz, earlier hroz, m. and n., formed from a Teut. root hrū̆t (Aryan krud); comp. OHG. rûȥan, AS. hrûtan, ‘to snore, snort,’ OIc. hrjóta. It can scarcely be compared with Gr. κόρυζα, ‘cold, catarrh.’
Rübe (UpG. Rube), f., ‘rape, turnip,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rüebe, ruobe, OHG. ruoba, ruoppa, f. The OHG. word cannot have been borrowed from Lat. râpa, ‘rape,’ although names of vegetables (comp. Kohl, Kappes, and Rettich) have passed directly from Lat. into OHG.; for if the word were borrowed thus, the sounds of Lat. râpa must have been preserved, or rather the p must have been changed into ff. The assumption that the prim. Teut. form rôbî appearing in Rübe was borrowed is opposed by the OHG. graded form râba, MidHG. râbe, ‘rape’ (Swiss rǟbi). The pre-Teut. word is therefore related to Lat. râpum, râpa, with which Gr. ῥάπυς, ῥάφυς, ‘turnip,’ ῥάφανος, ῥαφάνη, OSlov. rěpa, Lith. rópė, ‘turnip,’ are also connected. These cognates are wanting in East Aryan, hence the supposition that they were borrowed, as in the case of Hanf, is not to be discarded.—
Rübezahl, ‘Numbernips, a fabulous spirit of the Riesengebirge,’ is a contraction of MidHG. Ruobezagel, ‘turnip-tail’ (MidHG. zagel is equiv. to E. tail, AS. tœgel).
Rubrik, f., ‘rubric,’ from late MidHG. rubrike, f., ‘red ink’, from Fr. rubrique. whence also E. rubric; for Lat. rubrica see Rötel.
ruchlos, adj., ‘infamous, flagitious,’from MidHG. ruoche-lôs, ‘unconcerned, reckless,’ allied to MidHG. ruoche, f., ‘care, carefulness’; comp. E. reckless; see ruhen and geruben.
ruchtbar, ruchbar, adj., ‘notorious, ModHG. only, from LG., as is indicated by the LG. and Du. cht for the HG. ft; allied to MidHG. ruoft, ‘fame, reputation’; see anrüchig, berüchtigt, and Gerücht.
Ruck, m., ‘jerk, tug,’ from MidHG. ruc (gen. ruckes), OHG. ruc (gen. rucches), m., ‘sudden motion, jerk.’—
rücken, vb., ‘to jerk,’ from MidHG. rücken, OHG. rucchen, ‘to push along’; Goth. *rukki, m., ‘jolt,’ and *rukkjan, ‘to jerk,’ are wanting; comp. OIc. rykkja, ‘to jerk,’ and rykkr, m., ‘jolt,’ AS. roccian, ‘to jerk,’ E. to rock.
rucken, vb., ‘to coo’ (of pigeons), allied to MidHG. ruckezen, ‘to coo,’ and rucku, interj., ‘coo!’ (of pigeons); onomat. forms.
Rücken, im., ‘back, rear, ridge,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rücke, OHG. rucki, earlier hrukki, m. (Goth. *hrugja- is to be assumed); comp. the equiv. OSax. hruggi, Du. rug, AS. hrycg, E. ridge, OIc. hryggr. Gr. ῥάχις, ‘back,’ is not allied, because krakjó- is the OAryan form for Rücken. It is more probably related to OIr. crocen, ‘skin, back,’ and the Sans. root kruñc, ‘to bend,’ so Rücken may have been named from its flexibility. See zurück.—
Rückgrat, ‘spine’; see Grat.—
rücken, vb.; see Ruck.
Rüde, m., ‘hound,’ from MidHG. rüde, m., ‘big hound,’ OHG. rudo, hrudeo; OHG. *rutto (comp. ModHG. dial. Rütte) is by chance not recorded, but it may be assumed from the equiv. AS. ryÞÞa, hryþþa, m. Their origin is not certain, espec. as it cannot be determined whether the initial h of the AS. word is permanent; we have probably to assume Goth. *ruÞja, m. Akin to AS. roðhund?.
Rudel, n., ‘flock, herd, troop,’ ModHG. only, of uncertain etymology, perhaps a dimin. of Rotte, ‘host’ (comp. MidHG. rode with rotte). OIc. riðull, ‘small detachment of soldiers,’ can scarcely prove the genuine G. origin of Rudel, since it probably belongs to riða, ‘to ride.’ The Kinship of Rudel with Goth. wriþus, ‘herd,’ is also uncertain.
Ruder, n,‘oar, rudder,’ from the equiv. MidHG. ruoder, OHG. ruodar, n.; corresponding to the equiv. Du. roer, AS. rôþer, E. rudder (Goth. *rôþr, n., ‘oar,’ is by chance not recorded); in OIc. with a different suffix rœðe, n., ‘oar,’ while róðr, m., signifies ‘rowing.’ Goth. *rô-þra-, ‘oar,’ belongs to AS. rôwan, str. vb., E. to row, OIc. róa, Du. roeijen, MidHG. rüejen, ruon, all of which signify ‘to row.’ The Teut. ​root rô appears with the same meaning in the other Aryan languages, as rô, rē̆, er, ar; comp. OIr. rám, Lat. rê-mus, ‘oar’ (ratis, ‘raft’), Gr. ἐ-ρέ-της, ‘rower,’ τρι-ήρης, ‘trireme’; ἐρετμός, ‘oar,’ Sans. arítra-s, ‘oar’; also the Aryan root rê, ‘to push,’ in OSlov. rinąti, rějati, ‘to push,’ Sans. ar, ‘to drive.’ Moreover, E. oar, from AS. âr (OIc. âr) is the relic of another OTeut. term (whence Finn. airo, ‘oar’).
Ruf, m., ‘call, cry; report, fame, reputation,’ from the equiv. MidHG. ruof, OHG. ruof, m., for an earlier *hruof; corresponding to Goth. hrôps, m., ‘cry, clamour.’ —
rufen, vb., ‘to call out, cry,’ from the equiv. MidHG. ruofen, OHG. ruofan; corresponding to OSax. hrópan, Du. roepen, AS. hrôpan (wanting in E.), ‘to call out’; in Goth. hrôpjan, OHG. ruofen, ModHG. rüefen, wk. vb., with the same meaning. In the non-Teut. languages there are no terms corresponding to the Teut. root hrôp. See ruchtbar.
rügen, vb., ‘to denounce, censure, reprove,’ from MidHG. rüegen, OHG. ruogen, ‘to accuse, charge with, blame,’ for an earlier wrogjan; comp. Goth. wrôhjan, OSax. wrôgjan, AS. wrêgan, ‘to accuse, charge with.’ Allied to ModHG. Rüge, ‘censure, blame, crime,’ MidHG. rüege, Goth. wrôhs, ‘accusation,’ OSax. wrôht, ‘strife,’ AS. wrôht, ‘accusation, strife, crime.’ The Goth. forms with h compared with the g in the other terms point to Aryan k, which was the cause of the grammatical change of h to g. An Aryan root wrôk, wrâk, has not yet been discovered.
Ruhe, f., ‘rest, repose, calm, peace,’ from the equiv. MidHG. ruowe, OHG. ruowa, f. (also MidHG. râwe, OHG. râwa, in the same sense); comp. OIc. ró, AS. rôw, f., ‘rest.’ Goth. *rôwa (with the graded form *rêwa) corresponds exactly to Gr. ἐ-ρωή, ‘desisting, ceasing, rest,’ from Aryan rôwâ; the root rô contained in these words is probably allied to ra- in ModHG. Rast; yet the East MidG. Ruge used by Luther presents a difficulty. —
ruhen, vb., ‘to rest, repose, be calm,’ from the equiv. MidHG. ruowen (râwên), OHG. ruowên (râwên); a denom. of Ruhe.
Ruhm, m., ‘fame, celebrity; rumour,’ from MidHG. ruom (ruon), m., ‘fame, honour, praise,’ OHG. ruon, earlier hruom, m.; comp. OSax. hrôm, m., ‘fame,’ Du. roem. From the root hrô are derived, with a different suffix, the equiv. OIc. hróðr, m., AS. hrêþ, m., OHG. hruod-, ruod-, in compounds like Rudolf, Robert, &c.; also Goth. hrôþeigs, ‘victorious.’ The Teut. root hrô is based on Aryan kar, krā̆, to which Sans. kir, ‘to commend,’ and kîrtí, ‘fame,’ are allied.
Ruhr, f., ‘stir, disorder, diarrhœa, dysentery,’ from the equiv. MidHG. ruor, ruore, f., lit. ‘violent, hasty motion’; allied to rühren; comp. MidHG. ruortranc, ‘purgative.’ The general meaning ‘‘violent motion’ is still preserved in the compound Aufruhr, ‘riot.’
rühren, vb., ‘to stir, move (the feelings); touch,’ from MidHG. ruërn, OHG. ruorern, ‘to put in motion, incite, stir up, bestir oneself, mix, touch’; comp. OSax. hrôrian, ‘to move, stir, Du. roeren, AS. hrêran (to which AS. hrêremûs, E. reremouse, is allied), OIc. hrœ́ra. We have probably to assume Goth. *hrôzjan, to which hrisjan, ‘to shake,’ and OIc. hress, ‘quick,’ are perhaps allied. See Ruhr. The Teut. root hrôs (Aryan krâs) has no cognate terms in the other groups.
rülpsen, vb., ‘to belch, eructate,’ ModHG. only, early ModHG. rülzen; of obscure origin. Yet late MidHG. rülz, ‘coarse fellow, peasant,’ seems to be allied.
Rum, m., late ModHG. from the equiv. E. rum, whence also Fr. rhum, rum. The source of the word is said to be some American language; formerly it was wrongly derived from Sans. rôma, ‘water.’
Rummel, m., ‘rumble, din, lumber, lump,’ ModHG. only, from LG. rummel, ‘heap’ Du. rommelen, ‘to tumble,’ rommelzo, ‘medley’; see rumpeln. In the sense of ‘noise’ ModHG. Rummel is connected with Du. rommelen, ‘to rattle, roar, drink (of beasts),’ to which OIc. rymja, ‘to roar, make a noise,’ must be related.
rumpeln, vb., ‘to rumble, rummage, throw into confusion,’ from MidHG. rumpeln, ‘to make a noise or din, fall with a clatter’; probably an intensive form on account of the p. Comp. the equiv. MidE. romblen, E. to rumble; allied to Du. rommelen, ‘to make a noise,’ the mb being assimilated to mm; hence Rummel means ‘lumber.’
Rumpf, m., ‘trunk, body,’ from the equiv. MidHG. (MidG.) rumph, m.; in UpG. and MidG. botech, OHG. botah (AS. bodig, E. body). Comp. LG. rump, Du. romp, ‘trunk,’ MidE. rumpe, E. rump, Scand. rumpr, ‘rump.’ Allied to rümpfen?.
​ rümpfen, vb., ‘to turn up (the nose),’ from MidHG. rümphen, ‘to turn up (the nose), wrinkle’; OHG. *rumpfen is wanting, rimpfan (MidHG. rimphen), ‘to contract, wrinkle,’ being used; comp. Du. rimpelen, ‘to wrinkle,’ and rompelig, ‘rugged.’ The cognates have scarcely lost an initial h in spite of the existence of AS. hrympele, ‘wrinkle,’ and gehrumpen, ‘wrinkled,’ since gerumpen, ‘bent,’ is also recorded in AS. without an initial h. The Teut. root rimp (comp. further E. rimple, rumple, and Du. rimpel, ‘wrinkle’) has been connected with Gr. ῥάμφος, ‘curved beak, espec. of birds of prey,’ as well as ῥέμβομαι, ‘to roam,’ ῥαμφή, ‘curved dagger.’
rund, adj., ‘round,’ from the equiv. MidHG. runt (gen. rundes), adj.; borrowed from Fr. rond (from Lat. rotundus), whence also E. round, Du. rond, Dan. and Swed. rund.
Rune, f., see raunen.
Runge, f., ‘rung; bolt, pin; trigger,’ from MidHG. and MidLG. runge, f., ‘drag-shoe’; OHG. *runga, older *hrunga, f., are by chance not recorded; comp. Goth. hrugga, f., ‘staff,’ AS. hrung, E. rung. The prim. sense is probably ‘spar,’ therefore the connection with ModHG. Ring is doubtful.
Runkelrübe, f., ‘beetroot,’ ModHG. only, of obscure origin.
rünstig, adj., ‘flowing, running,’ in blutrünstig, ‘bleeding, bloody,’ from MidHG. bluot-runsec, -runs, adj., ‘bloody, wounded,’ allied to MidHG. and OHG. bluot-runs, ‘hæmorrhage, bleeding wound.’ Runs is an abstract from rinnen; comp. Goth. runs (gen. runsis), ‘course,’ runs blôþis, ‘issue of blood.’ Hence also ModHG. (dial.) Runs, ‘course of a torrent.’
Runzel, f., ‘wrinkle, fold, rumple,’ from the equiv. MidHG. runzel, OHG. runzila, f.; dimin. of OHG. runza, MidHG. runze, f., ‘wrinkle.’ By inference from OIc. krukka, MidHG. runke, and E. wrinkle (AS. wrincle), the OHG. from runza represents *wrunkza, *wrunkizza, with a dimin. suffix; the loss of the guttural is normal as in Blitz from *blikz, Lenz from *lęnkz. In the non-Teut. languages comp. Lat. rûga, Lith. rùkti, ‘to become wrinkled,’ raúkas, ‘wrinkle’ (see further rauh).
Rüpel, m., ‘coarse fellow, lubber,’ prop. a Bav. abbreviation of Ruprecht (hence Rüpel and Rüppel as surnames); for a similar use of proper names comp. Metze. Probably the meaning of Rüpel was occasioned by Knecht Ruprecht, ‘Knight Robert’ (bugbear in nursery tales), in whose character maskers disported themselves in a rude and coarse manner.
rupfen, vb., ‘to pluck (feathers), pick,’ from MidHG. rupfen, ropfen, an intensive form of raufen. To this is allied ruppig, ‘battered,’ from LG. ruppen for UpG. rupfen.
Rüssel, m., ‘trunk (of an elephant), snout,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rüeȥel, m.; ModHG. has shortened the real stem vowel as in lassen, from MidHG. lâȥen. OHG. *ruoȥil, earlier *wruoȥil, are unrecorded. Comp. the equiv. AS. wrôt, East Fris. wrôte, formed without the l suffix; also OHG. ruozzen, ‘to root or tear up the earth,’ Du. wroeten and North Fris. wretten, ‘to root,’ AS. wrôtan, wrôtian, E. to root. The Teut. root wrôt, ‘to root up’ (Rüssel is lit. ‘the uprooting snout of a pig’), from pre-Teut. wrôd (yet see Wurzel), has not yet been discovered in the non-Teut. languages; perhaps Lat. rôdere, ‘to gnaw,’ is primit. allied.
Rüste, f., from the equiv. late MidHG. rust, f., ‘repose, rest,’ a variant of Rast, derived from LG. Comp. Du. rust, ‘rest.’
rüsten, vb., ‘to prepare, equip, arm,’ from MidHG. rüsten, OHG. rusten, earlier *hrustjan, ‘to arm, prepare, adorn’; comp. Du. rusten, AS. hyrstan (for hrystan), ‘to deck, adorn.’ A denom. of OHG. rust, ‘armour,’ AS. hyrst, ‘decoration, adornment, armour,’ which again are verbal abstracts from a Teut. root hruþ, ‘to adorn.’ Comp. AS. hreódan, ‘to adorn,’ OIc. hrjóða, ‘to cleanse, discharge (a ship).’ May we also connected with this root hruþ, Teut. *hrossa-, ‘charger,’ as a partic. in ta- in the sense of ‘that which is adorned,’ in so far as it is an object of adornment? The Teut. root hruþ (from Aryan kruth, krut?) has been said, probably without any proof, to exist in Gr. κεκορυθμένος, ‘armed,’ κορύσσω, ‘to arm,’ κορυθ-, ‘helmet’; yet the dissyllable root κορυθ- cannot be made to tally with the Teut. hruþ of one syllable. See also Gerüste.
rüstig, adj., ‘prepared for action, vigorous, robust,’ from MidHG. rüstec, ‘vigorous, armed,’ OHG. rustîg, ‘prepared, adorned.’ With regard to the evolution of meaning comp. fertig, also entrüstet. OIc. hraustr, ‘brave, competent,’ is more remote.
Ruß, m., ‘soot,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. ruoȥ, m.; comp. Du. roet, ​‘soot.’ LG. sot, E. soot, and its equiv. AS. sôt are scarcely allied. OHG. ruoȥ probably represents*hruoȥ,*hrôta-, but whether it is to be connected with Goth. hrôt, ‘roof,’ is more than questionable; it is more probably allied to AS. hrôt, ‘dirt.’ No cognate terms are found in the non-Teut. languages.
Rute, f., ‘rod, switch, wand, rod (about 15 feet),’ from MidHG. ruote, OHG. ruota, f., ‘switch, rod, pole, rod (a measure)’; corresponding to OSax. rôda, t., ‘cross,’ Du. roede, ‘rod (also a measure),’ AS. rôd, f. ‘cross,’ E. rod, rood. Goth. *rôda, f., ‘pole, stake,’ is wanting. A pre-Teut. râdhá- is not found elsewhere; but is Lat. rădius, ‘staff,’ primit. allied?
rutschen, vb., ‘to slide, glide, slip,’ from late MidHG. rütschen, ‘to glide,’ with the variant rützen. Perhaps it belongs to the same root as rütteln, rütten (zerrütten), which are based on MidHG. rütteln, rütten, ‘to shake.’