row

row · noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European*Hreyk-
2. Proto-Indo-European*Hréykō
3. Proto-Germanic*rīgǭ
4. Proto-Germanic*raigwō
5. Proto-Germanic*raiwō
6. Proto-West Germanic*raiwu
7. Old Englishrǣw
8. Middle Englishrewe
9. English todayrow

From Middle English rewe, rowe, rawe, from Old English rǣw, rāw, probably from Proto-Germanic *raiwō, *raigwō, *rīgǭ (“row, streak, line”), from Proto-Indo-European *Hreyk- (“to carve, scratch, etch”). Cognate with Scots raw (“row”), dialectal Norwegian rå (“boundary line”), Saterland Frisian Riege (“row”), West Frisian rige (“row”), Dutch rij (“row, line”), German Low German Reeg, Riege, Rieg (“row”), German Reihe (“row”), German Riege (“sports team”).

row · verb, noun²

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*h₁reh₁-“to row”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*rōaną“to row”
3. Old English · inherited fromrōwan“to row”
4. Middle English · inherited fromrowen“to row”
5. English todayrow

From Middle English rowen (“to row”), from Old English rōwan (“to row”), from Proto-Germanic *rōaną (“to row”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁- (“to row”). Compare West Frisian roeie, Dutch roeien, Danish ro. More at rudder. Related to Russia.

row · noun, verb³

Unclear; some suggest it is a back-formation from rouse, verb.

Row · proper noun⁴

English surname, variant of Rowe.

Words from the same roots