reck

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*rēǵ-
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*rōkijaną“to care, take care”
3. Old Norse · derived fromrœkja
4. Middle English · inherited fromrecken
5. English todayreck

From Middle English recken, rekken, reken, from Old Norse rœkja (compare Old English rēċċan, rēċan (“to care, reck, take care of, be interested in, care for, desire”); whence English retch), from Proto-Germanic *rōkijaną (“to care, take care”), from Proto-Indo-European *rēǵ-, *rēg- (“to care, help”). Cognate with obsolete Dutch roeken, Low German roken, ruken (“to reck, care”), German geruhen (“to deign, condescend”), Icelandic rækja (“to care, regard, discharge”), Danish røgte (“to care, tend”), Swedish rykta (“to groom”). See reckon.

Words from the same roots