Etymology Explorer › Middle High German

Where does “ritter” come from?

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

Ancestry of “ritter”, step by step

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

Words derived from “ritter”

  • ritter
  • рыцарь
  • Ritter
  • Analritter
  • ritterbürtig
  • Rittertum
  • ritterlich
  • ritarikunta
  • ritarillisesti
  • ritarillinen
  • ritaristo
  • korsikanritari
  • ritariperhonen
  • ristiritari
  • ritari
  • ritarillisuus
  • serafimerriddare
  • riddare
  • rycerstwo
  • rycerz
  • ריטער
  • rıtsar
  • ritter
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂er- →