Etymology Explorer › Old Dutch

Where does “rīan” come from?

rīan (Old Dutch) comes from Proto-Germanic rīhaną, from Proto-Indo-European h₁reyḱ — to break, scratch.

Ancestry of “rīan”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Germanicrīhanąto line up, to string together
2Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁reyḱto break, scratch

Words derived from “rīan”

  • rijgen
  • rien
  • rigen
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁reyḱ →