*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of rivel

From Middle English rivelen, from Old English rifelan, riflian (“to wrinkle”), from a frequentative form of Proto-Germanic *ribjōną (“to wrap; wind; roll; twist; coil”), equivalent to rive + -el (frequentative suffix). R

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 wrinkle; a rimple.

verb

To shrivel, wrinkle (up). · To cause to be wrinkled, to shrivel.

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

From Middle English rivelen, from Old English rifelan, riflian (“to wrinkle”), from a frequentative form of Proto-Germanic *ribjōną (“to wrap; wind; roll; twist; coil”), equivalent to rive + -el (frequentative suffix). Related to Old Norse rifja (“to rake (hay) into rows or furrows”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionrivelenenm
  • Inherited-form mentionrifelanang
  • Derivation mention*ribjōnągem-pro · to wrap; wind; roll; twist; coil
  • Word-formation componentriveen
  • Word-formation component-leen
  • Cognate mentionrifjanon · to rake (hay) into rows or furrows
Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "rivelen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English rivelen"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "rifelan"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English rifelan"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*ribjōną",
        "t": "to wrap; wind; roll; twist; coil"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *ribjōną (“to wrap; wind; roll; twist; coil”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "af",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "rive",
        "3": "-le",
        "alt2": "-el",
        "pos2": "frequentative suffix"
      },
      "expansion": "rive + -el (frequentative suffix)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "rifja",
        "t": "to rake (hay) into rows or furrows"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse rifja (“to rake (hay) into rows or furrows”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "rivelen",
      "rivelen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "rifelan",
      "rifelan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "riflian",
      "riflian#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*ribjōną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ribjōną"
    ],
    [
      "rive",
      "rive#English"
    ],
    [
      "-el",
      "-le#English"
    ],
    [
      "rifja",
      "rifja#Old_Norse"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A wrinkle; a rimple."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 2395473
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To shrivel, wrinkle (up).",
        "To cause to be wrinkled, to shrivel."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive",
        "transitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "6fb8b61507db5954fe35aaa21e5639d9f00186a745a09e5d2cb2357f2679634c",
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A kind of small dumpling made from egg and wheat flour, often eaten in soup, especially among the Pennsylvania Dutch and other Germans.

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

Probably from (Pennsylvania German, from) Palatine Rhine Franconian Riwwel, Ribbel, Riebel (compare Volga German Rievel, Ribel, Riebel).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Derivation mentionRiwwelgmw-rfr
Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "pdc",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Pennsylvania German"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-rfr",
        "3": "Riwwel"
      },
      "expansion": "Rhine Franconian Riwwel"
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "gmw-vog",
        "2": "Rievel"
      },
      "expansion": "Volga German Rievel"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Riwwel",
      "Riwwel#Rhine_Franconian"
    ],
    [
      "Ribbel",
      "Ribbel#Rhine_Franconian"
    ],
    [
      "Riebel",
      "Riebel#Rhine_Franconian"
    ],
    [
      "Rievel",
      "Rievel#Volga_German"
    ],
    [
      "Ribel",
      "Ribel#Volga_German"
    ],
    [
      "Riebel",
      "Riebel#Volga_German"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A kind of small dumpling made from egg and wheat flour, often eaten in soup, especially among the Pennsylvania Dutch and other Germans."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
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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 rivel →

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-cml2ZWw