Where does “Rich” come from?

Rich derives from the given name Richard, which passed through Middle English Rycharde and Old French Richard from Latin Ricohardus, ultimately of Germanic origin.

Rich (English): having a lot of money and possessions

Definitions

  1. having a lot of money and possessions

Ancestry of “Rich”, step by step

Rich traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Richard

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishRichardA turd
2Middle EnglishRycharde—
3Old FrenchRichard—
4Medieval LatinRichardus—
5FrankishRīkahard—
6Proto-GermanicRīkaharduzA male given name
7Proto-Germanicrīksking, ruler
8Proto-Celticrīxsking
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃rḗǵsking, ruler
10Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃reǵ-to straighten, to right oneself; right; just

via Middle English riche

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishricherich
2Old Englishrīċepower, authority, dominion; realm, kingdom;...
3Frankishrīkirich
4Proto-Germanicrīkijazkingly, royal, noble; mighty, powerful; rich

Words derived from “Rich”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃reǵ- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃rḗǵs →Every word from Proto-Celtic rīxs →