English

Rugby

Rugby comes from Middle English Rokebi, and goes back to Old English Rocheberie.

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

Formed from rook + -by

Proto-Indo-European *kerk- ‘crow, raven’

Proto-Germanic *hrōkaz ‘rook, crow’

Proto-West Germanic *hrōk

Old English hrōc ‘rook (bird)’

Middle English rok

English rook

Every English word from Old English Rocheberie

name A town in Warwickshire, England, where the sport of rugby is thought to have originated (OS grid ref SP5075).

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