rhine

rhine · noun¹

1. Old English · inherited fromryne
2. English todayrhine

From Old English ryne. See run.

Rhine · proper noun²

1. French · derived fromRhin
2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₃reyH-“to move, flow, run”
3. Proto-Celtic · derived from*reinos
4. Gaulish · derived fromRēnos
5. Proto-Germanic · derived from*Rīnaz
6. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*Rīn
7. Old High German · derived fromRīn
8. Old English · inherited fromRīn“the Rhine”
9. Middle English · inherited fromRine
10. English todayRhine

From Middle English Rine, Ryne, from Old English Rīn (“the Rhine”), from Middle High German and Old High German Rīn, from Proto-West Germanic *Rīn, from Proto-Germanic *Rīnaz, from Gaulish Rēnos, from a Pre-Celtic or Proto-Celtic *reinos; one of a class of river names built from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reyH- (“to move, flow, run”). Cognate with Old High German Rīn ("the Rhine"; > German Rhein), Old Norse Rín (“the Rhine”), Dutch Rijn (“the Rhine”). Related also to Latin rivus ("river"), in Celtic with an -n- suffix as in Old Irish rīan (“run”) (more at run). The spelling with Rh- is due to the influence of Ancient Greek Ῥῆνος (Rhênos) (via French Rhin).

Words from the same roots