eric

E1R1I1C3
/ˈɛɹɪk/

noun

A fine paid as compensation for violent crimes.

OriginIrish éiric →
Very commonScrabble 6
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

eric1

nouneric (plural erics)

plural erics · alternative eriach · alternative erick

  1. historicalA fine paid as compensation for violent crimes.

    The court-poets of Wales […] could demand an eric of ‘nine cows, and nine-score pence of money besides’.

    1948 (revised 1952), Robert Graves, The White Goddess, Faber & Faber 1999, p. 18

Eric2

proper nounEric (plural Erics)

plural Erics · alternative Erick · alternative Erik · alternative Eriq · alternative Erique

  1. A male given name from the Germanic languages.

    "What's your name?" "Eric - I mean Williams." "Then why don't you say what you mean?"

    1859, Frederic William Farrar, chapter II, in Eric, or Little by Little: A Tale of Roslyn School
    3 more examples

    Mark it. Professor Roberts does not like the name Eric. This happens to be one of his given names, and it is a very honorable one. Eric was the first Viking explorer of the North American continent, and this ERIC we hope will be an explorer in the fields of complex therapy.

    1959, Roentgens, Rads and Riddles: A Symposium on Supervoltage Radiation Therapy., U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, page 71

    In 1999 at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, 18-year-old Eric Harris and 17-year-old Dylan Klebold killed 12 of their fellow students and a teacher before taking their own lives in the school library.

    2012 April 3, Laura Smith-Spark, “Are mass killings on the increase? Criminologist says no”, in CNN, archived from the original on 14 Jun 2021

    The episode follows two different stories: in one, the show’s resident bigot, Eric Cartman, is outraged to learn that fellow fourth grader Clyde has risen to prominence as a white nationalist podcaster who makes offensive claims about women, Jewish people, Black people and other minority groups to goad them into debating him in exploitative viral videos (“WOKE STUDENT TOTALLY PWNED”).

    2025 August 7, Zach Vasquez, “From puppy murder to racist podcasts: South Park’s anti-deportation episode is utterly ruthless TV”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 18 Aug 2025

ERIC3

proper noun
  1. abbreviationacronymAcronym of Education Resources Information Center.
  2. abbreviationacronymAcronym of European Research Infrastructure Consortium.
  3. abbreviationacronymAcronym of Electronic Registration Information Center.
    1 more example

    ERIC was formed to help states maintain accurate voter rolls and spot illegal voting. But instances of duplicate voting and out-of-state or out-of-precinct voting continue despite ERIC’s involvement. ERIC has failed at its stated mission of maintaining voter rolls because its true mission is to increase voter registration. Fortunately, a growing number of states are leaving ERIC, and more should follow.

    2023 December 12, Michael Greibrok, Kristi Stahr, “THE GREAT EXIT: Why States are Leaving Politically Driven ERIC and Why More States Should Follow.”, in Foundation for Government Accountability, page 3
nounERIC (uncountable)
  1. abbreviationacronymuncountableeducationAcronym of everybody reading in class (“a session in which pupils read books”).

Origin

eric · noun

  1. Irishéiric
  2. Englisheric

From Irish éiric.

More words from Irish

Full word history & related roots →

Eric · proper noun

  1. Proto-Germanic*rīks“king”
  2. Proto-Germanic*Aizarīkijaz
  3. Old NorseEirríkr
  4. Old EnglishEoric
  5. Middle EnglishEric
  6. EnglishEric

From Middle English Eric, from Old English Eoric, from Old Norse Eirríkr, Eiríkr (from ei (“always, eternal”, see aye) + ríkr (“ruler”)), or from Proto-Germanic *Aizarīkijaz (from *aizō (“honor”) + *rīkijaz (“ruler”)). Less likely from einn (“sole, alone”) + ríkr (“ruler”), from Proto-Germanic *rīks (“king”, cognate to Latin rēx and Gaulish *rīx). The name was in use in Anglo-Saxon Britain, reinforced by Scandinavian settlers before the Norman Conquest. Compare Danish Erik, German Erich. Possible doublet of Euric.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Old Norse

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic إِرِيك
  • إِرِيك (ʔirīk)male given name
Bengali এরিক
  • এরিক (erik)male given name
Bulgarian Е́рик
  • Е́рик (Érik)male given name
Catalan Èric
  • Èricmale given name
Chinese Mandarin 埃里克
  • 埃里克 (Āilǐkè)male given name
Czech Erik
  • Erikmale given name
Danish Erik
  • Erikmale given name
Dutch Erik
  • Erikmale given name
Esperanto Eriko
  • Erikomale given name
Estonian Erik, Eerik
  • Erikmale given name
  • Eerikmale given name
Finnish Eerik, Eero
  • Eerikmale given name
  • Eeromale given name
  • Erkkimale given name
French Éric
  • Éricmale given name
German Erich
  • Erichmale given name
Greek Ερρίκος, Έρικ
  • Ερρίκος (Erríkos)male given name
  • Έρικ (Érik)male given name
Hindi एरिक
  • एरिक (erik)male given name
Hungarian Erik
  • Erikmale given name
Icelandic Eiríkur
  • Eiríkurmale given name
Italian Erico
  • Ericomale given name
Japanese エリック
  • エリック (Erikku)male given name
Korean 에릭
  • 에릭male given name
Latin Ērīcus, Euricus
  • Ērīcusmale given name
  • Euricusmale given name
Latvian Ēriks
  • Ēriksmale given name
Lithuanian Erikas
  • Erikasmale given name
Māori Eriki
  • Erikimale given name
Norwegian Erik, Eirik
  • Erikmale given name
  • Eirikmale given name
Polish Eryk
  • Erykmale given name
Portuguese Érico
  • Éricomale given name
Punjabi ਐਰਿਕ
  • ਐਰਿਕ (airik)male given name
Russian Э́рик
  • Э́рик (Érik)male given name
Slovak Erik
  • Erikmale given name
Spanish Erico
  • Ericomale given name
Swedish Erik
  • Erikmale given name
Turkish Erik
  • Erikmale given name
Ukrainian Е́рік
  • Е́рік (Érik)male given name

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with eric

genericDerekatmosphericnumericderrickesotericberwickclericalphanumericstratosphericferricLerwickethericsphericexotericmesmericcholericmassetericnonalphanumericnoncholericparotideomassetericpremassetericskerrickSterek
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

Eric

Anagrams

riceCeriicercire
Cite this entry
APA

eric. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eric

MLA

“eric.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eric. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eric,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eric.

Source: eric on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.