Etymograph

English

Rhode

Rhode comes from Old English rod ‘cross’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *rōdō ‘rod, pole’.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rōdō‘rod, pole’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150rod‘cross’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Rode
  4. EnglishtodayRhode

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rōdō‘rod, pole’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150rod‘cross’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Rode
  4. EnglishtodayRhode

The story

The Rh- form—a 16th century spelling modification— was created by analogy with the unrelated Rhodes, Greece.

Linked words

through Middle English Rode

road, rood, 1 more

Another origin of Rhode

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEῬόδη
  2. EnglishtodayRhode

Today it means

name for a person who either lived near a woodland clearing, or came from a place so named.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *rōdō / Rhode

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