Where does “Riga” come from?

Riga, the capital of Latvia, derives from Latvian Rīga, whose ultimate origin and meaning remain uncertain.

Ancestry of “Riga”, step by step

Riga traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Italian riga

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italianrigaline; stripe; parting
2Old High Germanrigaline
3Proto-Germanicrīgǭrow, line
4Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁reyk-to scratch, cut

via Latvian Rīga

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1LatvianRīgaRiga

Words derived from “Riga”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁reyk- →Every word from Proto-Germanic rīgǭ →Every word from Old High German riga →