Etymology

rick

R1I1C3K5

Today it means: Straw, hay etc. stored in a stack for winter fodder, commonly protected with thatch. Full definition →

Middle English *rykke ← Old English hrycce ← Proto-Germanic *hraukaz
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rick · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*hraukaz“heap”
  2. Old English · inherited fromhrycce“rick, heap, pile”
  3. Middle English · inherited from*rykke
  4. English todayrick

From Middle English *rykke, from Old English hrycce (“rick, heap, pile”), cognate with Scots ruk (“rick”), Norwegian ruka (“rick, haystack”). Related also to Old English hrēac (“rick, stack”), from Proto-Germanic *hraukaz (“heap”). Further relations: Dutch rook, Icelandic hraukur, Irish cruach. Doublet of croagh.

rick · verb, noun2

  1. Middle Low German · derived fromvorwricken
  2. Middle Dutch · derived from*verwricken
  3. Middle English · inherited fromwricken
  4. English todayrick

From earlier wrick, from Middle English wricken, wrikken (“to move back and forth”), probably from Middle Dutch *verwricken or Middle Low German vorwricken. Cognate with West Frisian wrikke, wrikje, Dutch wrikken, Low German wricken, German wricken, Danish vrikke, Swedish vricka.

rick · verb, noun3

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*rukkijaną“to rock, move”
  2. Old Norse · derived fromrykkja“to move, rock, throw”
  3. Middle English · inherited from*rikken
  4. English todayrick

From Middle English *rikken (attested only as palatised variant Middle English richen (“to pull, tug; to move, proceed, run; to twist, turn”)), from Old Norse rykkja (“to move, rock, throw”), from Proto-Germanic *rukkijaną (“to rock, move”). Cognate with English rock. Possibly merged with Middle English wrikken (“to move to and fro, move back and forth”), see Etymology 2 above.

rick · noun4

Abbreviated form from recruit.

Rick · proper noun5

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₃reǵ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₃rḗǵs
  3. Proto-Celtic*rīxs
  4. Proto-Germanic*rīks
  5. Proto-West Germanic*rīk
  6. Proto-Indo-European*kret-der.?
  7. Proto-Germanic*harduz
  8. Proto-West Germanic*hardu
  9. Proto-West Germanic*Rīkuhardu
  10. Old High GermanRihhart
  11. Middle High GermanRihard
  12. Medieval LatinRichardus
  13. Old FrenchRichard
  14. Middle EnglishRycharde
  15. EnglishRichard
  16. English todayRick

From the male given name Richard.

Words from the same roots

Proto-Germanic*hraukaz all →

ruck

Middle Englishwricken all →

wrick

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.