raid

The story

1. Old English · derived fromrād“a riding, an expedition on horseback, road”
2. Northern Middle English · derived fromrade
3. Scots · borrowed fromraid
4. English todayraid

From Scots raid, from Northern Middle English rade, from Old English rād (“a riding, an expedition on horseback, road”), whence also the inherited English road (“way, street”). The earlier senses of “a riding, expedition, raid” fell into disuse in Early Modern English, but were revived in the northern form raid by Walter Scott in the early 19th century. The use for a swift police operation appears in the later 19th century and may perhaps have been influenced by French razzia (similar in both original meaning and sound).

Words from the same roots