English word origin

Etymology of rhea

Learned borrowing from taxonomic name Rhea, from Ancient Greek Ῥέα (Rhéa, “the mother of Zeus in Greek mythology”).

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

A large flightless bird of the order Rheiformes, native to South America.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Learned borrowing from taxonomic name Rhea, from Ancient Greek Ῥέα (Rhéa, “the mother of Zeus in Greek mythology”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Derivation mentionῬέαgrc

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "lbor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "mul-tax",
        "3": "Rhea"
      },
      "expansion": "Learned borrowing from taxonomic name Rhea"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "Ῥέα",
        "4": "",
        "5": "the mother of Zeus in Greek mythology"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek Ῥέα (Rhéa, “the mother of Zeus in Greek mythology”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Rhea",
      "Rhea#Translingual"
    ],
    [
      "Ῥέα",
      "Ῥέα#Ancient_Greek"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A large flightless bird of the order Rheiformes, native to South America."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "a38fa9aabb60c01b9c089e576d9973f8d60a3e9a0d5dc908a36f128e13073619",
      "rawRecordSha256": "1565706ff39b7a3678c64cbaa2694016caf46bff22c666cd9e8451d6f2bafe70",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 136923
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  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

Ramie (Boehmeria nivea), a fiber-yielding plant.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Assamese ৰিহা (riha, “rihā”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Derivation mentionৰিহাas

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "as",
        "3": "ৰিহা",
        "4": "",
        "5": "rihā"
      },
      "expansion": "Assamese ৰিহা (riha, “rihā”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "ৰিহা",
      "ৰিহা#Assamese"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Ramie (Boehmeria nivea), a fiber-yielding plant."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "6b09d019bbaffb45fcb41304431cc2b75b17ed35302930adfa46f23758bbd7f6",
      "rawRecordSha256": "642bcee5462bf5487e384de1471f1e01b50ce753b870eecb6d90cc1c33a5ddcb",
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for rhea →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-cmhlYQ