rider

rider · noun¹

1. Old English · inherited fromrīdere“rider, knight”
2. Middle English · inherited fromryder
3. English todayrider

From Middle English ryder, ridere, from Late Old English rīdere (“rider, knight”). Compare Dutch rijder, German Reiter. By surface analysis, ride + -er.

Rider · proper noun²

1. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*reudan
2. Old English · derived fromrēodan“to clear out”
3. English todayRider

* As an English surname, from the noun rider. * Also as an English surname, from Old English rēodan (“to clear out”), from Proto-West Germanic *reudan. Compare Reeder. * Also as an English surname, from dialectal rithe (“small stream”). * As an Irish surname, calque from Irish ó marcaigh (“descendant of the (horse)rider”). This is also found directly in Markey. * As a German surname, Americanized from Reiter.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 11th c. A knight, or other mounted warrior.
• from 14th c. An old Dutch gold coin with the figure of a man on horseback stamped upon it.
• from 14th c. Someone who rides a horse or (later) a bicycle, motorcycle etc.
• from 16th c. A mounted robber; a bandit, especially in the Scottish borders.
• 16th–17th c. Someone who breaks in or manages a horse; a riding master.
• from 18th c. An agent who goes out with samples of goods to obtain orders; a commercial traveller or travelling salesman.
• from 19th c. Someone riding in a vehicle; a passenger on public transport.
• from 17th c. A supplementary clause added to a document after drafting, especially to a bill under the consideration of a legislature.