| 1 | English | read | To look at and interpret letters or other... |
| 2 | Middle English | reden | to counsel, advise; to study; to read |
| 3 | Old English | rǣdan | to read, interpret; to counsel, advise; plot,... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | rādan | to advise, counsel, help; to devise, decide,... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | rēdaną | to decide, advise |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | Hreh₁dʰ- | to think; to arrange; to succeed, accomplish |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂reh₁- | to think, reason; to arrange |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂er- | to fit, to fix, to put together |