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rick

Etymology and origin of the English word rick

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Pronunciation

rick1 haystack

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
900
Inherited from
Old English hrēac

Etymology

The stack is Middle English reke, reek, inherited from Old English hrēac,[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *hraukaz,[3][2] which also gave Old Norse hraukr, Frisian reak and Dutch rook “heap”;[3][2][5] it is perhaps related to ridge.[3][2][5] Hoad calls it of unknown origin.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A stack of hay, corn or straw: 900 in Barnhart and the OED.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Especially a regularly built stack, thatched to keep off the rain.[3][6][7] A heap or pile in general is from 1606.[6] The verb, to stack into ricks, is from 1623.[2][6] Rick-burning was a form of rural protest, and the rickyard a farm's stackyard.[6]

Timeline

  • 900 – a haystack.[2][6]
  • 1606 – a heap or pile.[6]
  • 1623 – to stack into ricks.[2][6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A large stack of hay, straw or corn, often thatched against the weather.

Verb

  1. To pile hay or corn into ricks.

rick2 sprain

Confidence
Uncertain
First attested
1798

Etymology

The sprain is probably a variant of wrick “to sprain”,[4][8] perhaps from Middle English wrikken “to move unsteadily”;[5] the NODE calls it of dialect origin.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

To sprain or wrench a limb: 1798 in the OED,[6] while MWU dates it to 1638.[5]

Semantic evolution

The noun, a slight sprain, especially in the neck or back, is from 1854.[6][8]

Timeline

  • 1798 – to sprain.[6]
  • 1854 – a sprain.[6]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. (British) To sprain or wrench slightly: rick one's neck.

Noun

  1. A slight sprain.

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  8. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Rick.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/rick. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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