Etymograph

English

rain

Rain comes from Middle English reyn, from Old English reġn, from Proto-Germanic *regną ‘rain’, of uncertain origin.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*regną‘rain’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*regn‘rain’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150reġn‘rain’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500reyn
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2019rain

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*regną‘rain’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*regn‘rain’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150reġn‘rain’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500reyn
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2019rain

Earliest quotation: 2019, VOA Learning English: “This process involves cloud seeding – when various substances…”

The story

Inherited from Middle English reyn, rein, from Old English reġn, from Proto-West Germanic *regn, from Proto-Germanic *regną, of uncertain origin.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain. Possibly from pre-Germanic *Hréǵ-no-, from Proto-Indo-European *Hreǵ- (‘to flow’), although the consonant reflexes don't match.

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *regną

Another origin of rain

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hréǵʰ-no-suncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*regnąreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*regnōną‘to rain’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*regnōn‘to rain’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150reġnian‘to rain’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500reinen
  7. Englishtodayrain

Today it means

noun Condensed water falling from a cloud.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *regną / rain

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