"R" Word Origins

raglan

Origin

Named after Lord Raglan, a British army commander in the Crimean War, who reportedly wore a coat cut this way after losing an arm.

Ragnarok

Old Norse

From Old Norse ragnarǫk, combining regin ("gods") and rǫk ("fate" or "judgment").

Rags

Origin

See the often-negative connotations of rag. Probably arose due to rag alliterating with Rangers.

ragtag

Origin

From the older phrase "tag and rag," combining "rag" and "tag" to describe a disorderly mixed crowd.

ragtime

Origin

Likely from "ragged" plus "time," referring to its heavily syncopated ("ragged") rhythm.

ragusa

Origin

Borrowed from Italian Ragusa, from Latin Ragusia. Probably from Proto-Albanian *rāguša (“grape”) (modern Albanian rrush)

rah

Origin

A shortened form of "hurrah."

Rahim

Arabic

From Arabic رَحِيم (raḥīm), "kind" or "compassionate."

Rahman

Arabic

From Arabic رَحْمَٰن (raḥmān), "merciful," one of the traditional names for God in Islam.

rahui

Origin

Borrowed from Māori rāhui, meaning "restriction" or "prohibition."

Rahul

Sanskrit

A transliteration of Sanskrit राहुल (rāhula).

rai

Origin

The "stone money" sense is borrowed from Yapese raay.

raid

Old English · 1800

From the Scots word raid, going back to an Old English word for "a ride" or "expedition on horseback" — the same root as "road." The modern sense was revived by Walter Scott in the 19th century.

raider

Origin

Formed from "raid" plus the agent-noun suffix "-er."

raik

Origin

From Middle English rake (“path”), from Old Norse rák (“trail”), from Proto-Germanic *rēkō, *raką, *rakō, *rakǭ (“file of tracks, line”), from Proto-Indo-European *(o)reg'-, *(o)reg'a- (“to straighten, direct”). Cognate with Icelandic rák (“streak, grazing”), Icelandic raka (“strip, series”), Norwegian røk (“grazing”), Norwegian rak (“wick”), Old English race, racu (“a run, riverbed”).

rail

Latin

From Old French reille and Old English regol, both going back to Latin regula, "a rule" or "straight bar" — the same root as "regular" and "rule."

railcar

Origin

From rail + car.

railhead

Origin

From rail + head.

railing

Origin

Formed from "rail" plus "-ing."

raillery

Origin

Borrowed from French raillerie.

railleur

Origin

Borrowed from French railleur.

railroad

Origin

A compound of "rail" and "road."

railway

Origin

A compound of "rail" and "way."

raiment

Origin

Aphetized from Middle English arayment, borrowed from Anglo-Norman arraiement and Old French areement, from areer (“to array”). See array.

rain

Old English

From Old English regn, an ancient Germanic word shared with German Regen and Dutch regen.

rain check

English

From American baseball, where spectators at a rained-off game were given a stub admitting them to the replayed fixture.

Raina

Italian

Borrowed from Kashmiri and also from Italian, as an independent surname.

rainbow

Old English

From Old English reġnboga, literally "rain" plus "bow" (as in an arch) — a very old, straightforward compound shared across the Germanic languages.

raincoat

Origin

A straightforward compound of "rain" and "coat" — a coat for the rain.

raindrop

Old English

From Old English regndropa, simply "rain" plus "drop" — one droplet of falling rain.

Rainer

Germanic

A variant of the surname Rayner, from a medieval Germanic given name combining roots meaning "counsel" and "army."

Raines

French

From the name of the French city of Reims, where the fabric was originally woven.

Rainey

Old Norse

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Raighne, a Gaelicized form of the Old Norse name Rognvaldr.

rainfall

Origin

From "rain" + "fall" — literally the falling of rain, later used for the measured amount that falls.

rainforest

German

A direct translation of the German Regenwald ("rain forest"), built from "rain" and "forest".

Rainier

Origin

Named after Mount Rainier in Washington State, itself named by a British naval officer after Rear Admiral Peter Rainier.

rainmaker

Origin

From "rain" + "maker" — originally someone who claimed to summon rain, later extended to anyone who "makes things happen" for a business.

rainmaking

Origin

From rain + making.

rainshade

Origin

From rain + shade; compare sunshade.

rainstorm

Origin

From "rain" + "storm" — a storm whose main feature is heavy rain.

rainwater

Old English

A simple compound of "rain" and "water" going back to Old English regnwæter.

rainy

Old English

From Old English regniġ, simply "rain" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-y".

raise

Old Norse

From Old Norse reisa, "to erect" or "cause to rise" — the causative partner of the verb "rise".

raisin

Latin

From Old French/Anglo-Norman reisin ("grape"), from Latin racemus — the same root that gives English "raceme".

raising

Middle English

The "-ing" form of "raise", from Middle English reysynge.

raj

Latin

Borrowed from Hindi राज (rāj, "rule, kingdom"), ultimately from the same ancient root as the Latin word behind "regal" and "royal".

rajah

Latin

From Hindi/Urdu rājā, from Sanskrit rājan ("king"), from the same ancient root as the Latin rex — making it a distant cousin of "royal" and "regal".

Rajasthan

Hindi

From Hindi राजा (rājā, "king") + स्थान (sthān, "locality").