Where does “Reichsritter” come from?

Reichsritter (German) comes from German ritter, from Middle High German ritter, from Dutch ridder, from Middle Dutch riddere, from Middle Dutch rîdere, from Old Dutch rīdere, from Old Dutch rīdan, from Proto-West Germanic rīdan — to fit, to fix, to put together.

Reichsritter (German): imperial knight

Definitions

  1. imperial knight

Ancestry of “Reichsritter”, step by step

Reichsritter traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German ritter

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanritterknight
2Middle High Germanritter
3DutchridderA knight; One of certain butterflies of the...
4Middle Dutchriddere
5Middle Dutchrîdere
6Old Dutchrīdere
7Old Dutchrīdanto ride
8Proto-West Germanicrīdanto ride
9Proto-Germanicrīdanąto ride
10Proto-Indo-Europeanrēydʰ-
11Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂er-to fit, to fix, to put together

via German reich

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanreichrich; singular imperative of reichen
2Middle High Germanrīcherich
3Old High Germanrīhhirich, mighty; power, might, empire; realm
4Proto-West Germanicrīkīmighty, powerful; rich; kingdom, realm
5Proto-Germanicrīkijazkingly, royal, noble; mighty, powerful; rich
6Proto-Germanicrīksking, ruler
7Proto-Celticrīxsking
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃rḗǵsking, ruler
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃reǵ-to straighten, to right oneself; right; just
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂er-