"R" Word Origins

radiancy

Origin

From radiant + -cy.

radiant

Latin

From Latin radians/radiantis, the present participle of radiare, "to give off rays".

radiate

Latin

A learned borrowing from Latin radiatus, the past participle of radiare, "to give off rays", from radius, "spoke, ray".

radiation

Origin

Borrowed from Latin radiatio, radiationis. By surface analysis, radiate + -ion.

radiator

Origin

Formed from "radiate" plus the agent suffix "-or", meaning "something that radiates".

radical

Latin

From Latin radicalis, "of or having roots", from radix, "root" — the political and thorough-change senses developed from the idea of getting to the root of a problem.

radically

Origin

From "radical" plus the adverb-forming suffix "-ly".

radication

Origin

From Middle English radicacyon, from Medieval Latin rādīcātio.

radio

Latin

Shortened from "radiotelegraphy", itself built from "radio-" (relating to radiation/rays) plus "telegraphy".

radioactive

French · 1898

Coined by Pierre and Marie Curie in 1898 as the French radio-actif, from "radio-" plus "active".

radioactivity

Origin

From "radioactive" plus the noun-forming suffix "-ity".

radiolocation

Origin

From radio- + location.

radiologist

Origin

From "radiology" plus the agent suffix "-ist".

radiology

Latin

From "radio-" (relating to rays/radiation) plus "-logy" ("study of").

radioscopy

Origin

From radio- + -scopy.

radiotherapist

Origin

From radio- + therapist.

radish

Latin

Traces back through Old English and Latin radicem, "root", ultimately from the same root as "radix" and "radical".

radium

French

Borrowed from French radium, built from "radio(actif)" ("radioactive") plus the element-naming suffix "-ium".

radius

Latin

Borrowed directly from Latin radius, meaning "ray" or "spoke".

radix

Origin

PIE word *wréh₂ds Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds Proto-Italic *wrādīks Latin rādīxlbor. English radix Learned borrowing from Latin rādīx (“a root”). Doublet of radish.

Radley

Old English

From Old English rēad ("red") + lēah ("wood, woodland clearing").

radon

Origin

A contraction of "radium emanation", since the gas is produced by radium's radioactive decay.

raegan

Origin

Modern fanciful spelling of Reagan.

Raf

Origin

A clipping of Rafael.

Rafael

Origin

Compare Spanish Rafael, Portuguese Rafael.

Rafe

Origin

A medieval spelling variant of Ralph.

raff

Old French

From Middle English raf, borrowed from Old French raffer ("to snatch"), of Germanic origin — the same root that gives us "riffraff."

Raffaele

Italian

Borrowed from Italian Raffaele.

Rafferty

Irish

An anglicised form of the Irish Ó Rabhartaigh, meaning "descendant of Rabhartach," a name built on rabharta, "flood" or "spring tide."

Raffi

Origin

From the Armenian name Ռաֆֆի (Raffi).

raffish

Origin

From late 18th century raff (“persons among the lowest class in society”) + -ish, still retained in contemporary English with riffraff. From Old French raffer (“to wear away”), of Germanic origin. Compare German raffen. Compare rip (“to tear”), rap (“to snatch”).

raffle

Old French

From Old French rafle, a dice game (also meaning "plundering"), from a verb meaning "to snatch or seize" — related to the idea of grabbing a prize by chance.

Rafi

Arabic

From Arabic رَافِع (rāfiʕ), meaning "one who raises or elevates."

Rafiq

Arabic

From Arabic رفيق (rafīq), meaning "companion" or "friend."

raft

Old Norse

From an Old Norse word for a beam or rafter — the same root that gives us "rafter."

rafter

Origin

From Old English ræfter, of Germanic origin, related to the origin of raft.

rag

Old English

From Old English ragg, "a tuft" or "shagginess," related to Old Norse rǫgg — the same root that gives us "rug."

raga

Sanskrit

From Sanskrit राग (rāga), literally "colour" or "passion" — the idea being that each raga colours the mood of the music.

ragamuffin

Middle English

Recorded in Middle English as Ragamuffyn, the name of a demon in Piers Plowman, and associated from early on with rag in the sense of a tattered garment. The second element is of uncertain origin.

rage

Latin

From Anglo-Norman rage, ultimately from Latin rabies, "madness" or "fury" — a distant cousin of the English word "rabies" itself.

rager

Origin

Built from "rage" (in its slang sense of "to party hard") plus the ending "-er."

ragga

Origin

Clipping of raggamuffin, variant of ragamuffin (“troublemaker”), influenced by reggae.

ragged

Middle English

From Middle English ragged, related to Old Norse words for "tufted" or "shaggy" — the same family as "rag."

raggedy

Origin

Formed from "ragged" plus the informal ending "-y."

Raghav

Sanskrit

From Sanskrit राघव (rāghava), "descendant of Raghu."

Raghavan

Sanskrit

From Tamil ராகவன் and Malayalam രാഘവൻ, both derived from the same Sanskrit root as "Raghav."

raghead

Origin

From rag + head.

Raghu

Sanskrit

From Sanskrit रघु (raghú).