rife

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₁reyp-“to tear (off), rip”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*rībaz“generous”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*rīb
4. Old English · inherited fromrīfe
5. Middle English · inherited fromrife
6. English todayrife

From Middle English rife, from Old English rīfe, rȳfe (“rife, abundant, frequent”), from Proto-West Germanic *rīb, from Proto-Germanic *rībaz (“generous”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyp- (“to tear (off), rip”). Cognate with West Frisian rju (“rife, much”), Dutch rijf (“abundant, copious”), Low German rive (“abundant, munificent”), Icelandic rífur (“rife, munificent”), Faroese ríviligur (“plentiful, abundant”), Faroese rívan (“abundantly”), Icelandic reifa (“to bestow”).

Words from the same roots