*rīdaną

Reconstruction

The infinitive is *rīdaną in Wiktionary^[1] and *rīđanan in Orel;^[2] Kroonen cites the verb by its stem *rīdan-,^[3] Köbler as *reidan or *rīdan.^[4]

Etymology

It is from Proto-Indo-European *Hreydʰ- (“to set in motion, to ride”), which Wiktionary takes as probably an extension of Proto-Indo-European *h₃reyH- (“to move, to churn”).^[1] Kroonen reconstructs a thematic present *Hréidʰ-e- and calls it a European verb.^[3]

Morphology

A strong verb of class I.^[5][6] Fulk gives it as an example of a strong verb with e-grade beside a feminine noun with o-grade: Old Norse ríða from *rīðanan beside Old Norse reið (“course”) from *raiðō.^[7]

Evidence

The verb is attested only in North and West Germanic: Old Norse ríða, Old English rīdan, Old Frisian rīda, Old Saxon rīdan and Old High German rītan.^[3][2] No Gothic form is recorded,^[3][2] and Köbler sets up an unattested Gothic *reidan.^[4] The Old Saxon verb occurs in the past plural Old Saxon umbiridun "rode around",^[2][5] and there is Old Dutch rīdan (“to ride, to mount”).^[5] Outside Germanic the verb is matched by Old Irish réidid (“to ride”), Welsh rhwydd-hau (“to hurry”) and Lithuanian riedėti (“to roll”).^[3][2]

Competing analyses

Ringe lists the verb among the words shared only by Celtic and Germanic, which may or may not be loanwords.^[8] De Vries reports Porzig's view that the meaning "to ride" is an innovation shared by Germanic and Celtic, a forceful word made from an older "to swing" that replaced the old root *uegh; de Vries thought the original meaning was rather "to shake", as Old Norse riða (“fit of fever”) still shows.^[9] Kroonen thinks that Icelandic and Norwegian verbs meaning "to copulate" and "to wobble; to mate" may be the same verb, and connects *ridra- "penis" with them.^[3][3]

Meanings

1. to ride^[3][4][1]
2. to move, to swing, to rock^[3][4]

Old English also used it for "to move, to rock",^[3] and for "to float", "to press" and "to seize";^[10] Old Frisian also for "to drive".^[3] Pronk-Tiethoff cites German bereit and English ready, from the same root, as a parallel for a shift from "to go, ride" to "ready".^[11]

Derivatives

• *raidō "ride, journey", also the name of the rune ᚱ, an o-grade noun;^[12] Orel's *raiđō "riding, vehicle".^[13]
• *raidijaną "to cause to move, to carry, to transport on horseback";^[14] Orel's *raiđjanan.^[13]
• *ridjô "rider";^[15] Orel's *riđōn, in Old Norse -riði.^[16]
• *raiđaz "ready", which Orel derives from this verb.^[13]

Reflexes

• Old Norse: ríða (“to move to and fro, to swing, to ride, to defeat”)^[9]
• Old English: rīdan (“to ride, to drive, to move, to swing”)^[10]
• Old Frisian: rīda (“to ride, to drive”)^[17]
• Old Saxon: rīdan (“to ride”)^[6]
• Old Dutch: rīdan (“to ride, to mount”)^[5]
• Old High German: rītan (“to ride, to drive, to move”)^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *rīdaną
2. ^ a b c d e Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 305
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 412
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *reidan
5. ^ a b c d e Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. s.v. rîtan
6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. rīdan
7. ^ Fulk, R. D. (2018), A Comparative Grammar of the Early Germanic Languages, Studies in Germanic Linguistics 3, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins
8. ^ Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 328
9. ^ a b de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 444
10. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. ridan
11. ^ Pronk-Tiethoff, Saskia (2013), The Germanic Loanwords in Proto-Slavic, Leiden Studies in Indo-European 20, Amsterdam / New York: Rodopi
12. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *raidō
13. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 295
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *raidijaną
15. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *ridjô
16. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 304
17. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. rīda