rit

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*wrid-néh₂-
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*ritjaną“to cut, scratch”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*rittjan
4. Old English · inherited from*rittan“to cut, score, slit, tear,”
5. Middle English · inherited fromritten“to cut, score, slit, tear”
6. English todayrit

From Middle English ritten (“to cut, score, slit, tear”), from Old English *rittan (“to cut, score, slit, tear,”) (compare Old High German rizzen), from Proto-West Germanic *rittjan, from Proto-Germanic *ritjaną (“to cut, scratch”), from Proto-Indo-European *wrid-néh₂-; see *hrītaną. Cognate with Middle Low German ritten (“to scratch”), German ritzen (“to scratch”). Compare with Proto-Slavic *rězati (“to cut, carve, engrave”)). See also rat.

Words from the same roots