The story
- Old English · derived fromhrīs“twig, branch; brushwood”
- English todayRisley
From Old English hrīs (“twig, branch; brushwood”) + lēah (“woodland clearing, glade”); equivalent to rice + -ley (“lea”). The circus term comes from the name of Richard Risley Carlisle (1814–1874), who developed this kind of act in the United States.
Words from the same roots
Old Englishhrīs all →
riseRisborough
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.