English
river
River comes from Middle English ryver, from Anglo-Norman riviere, from Early Medieval Latin rīpāria ‘riverbank’, from Latin rīpa ‘river bank’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁reyp-‘to scratch, tear’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁réyp-eh₂reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*reipā‘river bank’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErīpa‘river bank’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErīpārius‘of a riverbank’
- Early Medieval Latinmodernrīpāria‘littoral, riverbank’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400riviere
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ryver‘a river’
- Englishearliest quotation 1908river
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁reyp-‘to scratch, tear’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁réyp-eh₂reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*reipā‘river bank’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErīpa‘river bank’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErīpārius‘of a riverbank’
- Early Medieval Latinmodernrīpāria‘littoral, riverbank’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400riviere
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ryver‘a river’
- Englishearliest quotation 1908river
Earliest quotation: 1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows: “By the side of the river he trotted as…”
The story
Unrelated to Latin rīvus (‘stream’) (whence rival, derive).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyp- ‘to scratch, tear, cut’
rope, reap, taser, rife, 5 more
through Latin rīpa ‘river bank’
through Latin rīpārius ‘of a riverbank’
through Early Medieval Latin rīpāria ‘littoral, riverbank’
Today it means
noun A large and often winding stream which drains a land mass, carrying water down from higher areas to a lower point, oftentimes ending in another body of water, such as an ocean or in an inland sea.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyp- / river