"R" Word Origins

rigid

Latin

From Latin rigidus (\"stiff\"), from rigeō (\"to be stiff\").

rigidity

Latin

From rigid plus -ity, ultimately from Latin rigiditas.

rigmarole

Origin

From ragman roll (“long list; catalogue”). Recorded since c1736.

Rigor

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish Rigor.

rigorous

Late Latin

From Middle French rigoreus, from Late Latin rigōrōsus (\"stiff, inflexible\").

rigorousness

Origin

From Middle English rigoresnes, rigoresnesse, rigorousenes, equivalent to rigorous + -ness.

rigour

Origin

From Middle English rigour, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French rigor, from Latin rigor (“stiffness, rigidity, rigor, cold, harshness”), from rigere (“to be rigid”). Compare French rigueur.

rigourousness

Origin

Equivalent to rigourous + -ness.

Rigsby

Origin

Habitational surname from a place in Lincolnshire, England.

Rihanna

Arabic

From Arabic رَيْحَانَة (rayḥāna), related to رَيْحَان (rayḥān, "basil; myrtle").

rile

Origin

A dialect pronunciation of "roil," originally meaning to stir up muddy water.

rill

Origin

From or akin to West Frisian ril (“rill; a narrow channel”), Dutch ril (“rill; gully; trench; watercourse”), German Low German Rille, Rill (“a small channel; brook; furrow”), German Rille (“a groove; furrow”).

rim

Old English

From Old English rima, meaning an edge, border, or coastline.

Rimbaud

French

From French Rimbaud.

rime

Origin

The noun is derived from Middle English rim, rime, rym, ryme (“hoar frost; rime”), from Old English hrīm (“frost”), from Proto-West Germanic *hrīm (“rime; hoar frost”), from Proto-Germanic *hrīmą (North Germanic), *hrīmaz, *hrīmô (“rime; hoar frost”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *krey- (“to graze, touch; to streak”). The verb is derived from the noun. (The Old English equivalent, which did not survive into modern English, was behrīman.) Cognates * Middle Dutch riim, rijm, rīm (modern Dutch rijm (“hoar frost”)) * Old Danish *rim (only in rimfrost (“rime frost”); modern Danish rim (“hoar frost”)) * Old French rime, rimee (Middle French rime, rimee (“hoar frost”), Anglo-Norman rime, rimee (“hoar frost”)) * Old High German rīm (Middle High German rīm, Bavarian Reim (“dew; fog; light frost”) (dialectal)) * Old Norse hrím (Icelandic hrím, Norwegian rim (“hoar frost”)) * Old Saxon hrīm * Old Swedish *riim, *rim (only in rimfrost (“rime frost”); modern Swedish rim) * West Frisian rime, rym

riming

Origin

From rime (“to cover (something) with rime or (loosely) hoar frost”) + -ing (suffix forming present participial adjectives and verbs, and nouns denoting an action or the embodiment of an action).

Rimini

Latin

From Italian Rimini, from Latin Arīminium.

rimmer

Origin

From "rim" plus the agent suffix "-er."

rin

Old English

From Old English rinnan, "to run," the same root as the modern word "run."

Rina

Italian

Short form of names ending in -rina, such as Katrina and Marina; also borrowed independently from Italian.

Rinaldi

Italian

Borrowed from Italian Rinaldi.

Rinaldo

Italian

Borrowed from Italian Rinaldo.

rind

Old English

From Old English rind, meaning tree bark or a crust.

rindle

Origin

From Middle English rendel and other variants with d of rinel, whence also the more common form runnel: see that entry for more.

rine

Origin

From Middle English rinen, from Old English hrīnan, from Proto-West Germanic *hrīnan, from Proto-Germanic *hrīnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *krey- (“to strip, touch”).

ring

Old English

From Old English hring, meaning a circle or ring, going back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to turn or bend."

ringer

Origin

From "ring" (as in to ring a bell) plus "-er," originally someone who rang bells.

ringle

Origin

Formed from "ring" plus the small-action suffix "-le."

ringleader

Origin

From "ring" (a circle of people) plus "leader" — originally the leader at the center of a circle.

ringlet

Origin

From ring + -let. Compare Middle English ryngyl, ryngyll, rengel (“ringlet”).

ringleted

Origin

From ringlet + -ed.

ringmaster

Origin

From "ring" (the circus performance area) plus "master."

Ringo

Origin

From the stage name of Beatles drummer Richard Starkey, said to derive from the many rings he wore.

ringside

Origin

From "ring" plus "side," referring to the space beside a boxing ring.

ringtone

Origin

From "ring" (the sound a phone makes) plus "tone."

ringway

Origin

From ring + way.

rink

Old English

From Old English rinc, "man" or "warrior," which came to mean an enclosed course for contests before narrowing to its modern ice-skating sense.

rinse

Old French

From Old French rincier, "to rinse or cleanse," of uncertain deeper origin.

rio

Spanish

From the trade name used in the Spanish saffron industry to rank quality tiers; not related to the Portuguese/Spanish word "río" meaning "river."

riot

Old French

From Old French riote, "a dispute or quarrel," ultimately linked to the verb rioter, "to quarrel."

riotous

Origin

Inherited from Middle English riotous, from Anglo-Norman riotous; equivalent to riot + -ous.

rip

Old English

From Middle English rippen, "to pluck," related to Old English words for tearing or plundering.

ripe

Old English

From Old English rīpe, "ripe or mature," related to the verb "reap."

ripen

Origin

Formed from "ripe" plus the verb-forming suffix "-en."

ripeness

Origin

From Middle English ripenesse, rypenesse, rijpnesse, from Old English rīpness, equivalent to ripe + -ness.

riposte

Origin

From French riposte, taken from Italian risposta, a derivative of the verb rispondere (“to respond”).

ripper

Origin

From "rip" plus the agent suffix "-er."

ripple

Origin

Believed to come from an alteration of "rimple," an older word for a fold or wrinkle.