Where does “Rhine” come from?
Rhine comes from Middle English Rine, from Old English Rīn, from Proto-Germanic Rīnaz, from Gaulish Rēnos, from Proto-Celtic rēnos, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₃er-.
Rhine (English): A watercourse; a ditch for water
Definitions
- A watercourse; a ditch for water
Ancestry of “Rhine”, step by step
Rhine traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English Rine
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | Rine | — |
| 2 | Old English | Rīn | the Rhine |
| 3 | Middle High German | Rīn | — |
| 4 | Old High German | Rīn | — |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *Rīn | the river Rhine |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | Rīnaz | the river Rhine |
| 7 | Gaulish | Rēnos | that which flows |
| 8 | Proto-Celtic | Reinos | river, waterway |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃reyH- | to move, set in motion |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃er- | to move, to stir; to rise, to spring; to quarrel,... |