*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of ride

From Middle English riden, from Old English rīdan, from Proto-West Germanic *rīdan, from Proto-Germanic *rīdaną (“to ride”), from Proto-Indo-European *Hreydʰ- (“to ride”), from *h₃reyH- (“to move”), from *h₃er- (“to move

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 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.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

An instance of riding. · A vehicle. · An amusement ridden at a fair or amusement park. · A lift given to someone in another person's vehicle.

verb

To transport oneself by sitting on and directing a horse, later also a bicycle etc. · To be transported in a vehicle; to travel as a passenger. · To transport (someone) in a vehicle. · Of a ship: to sail, to float on the water.

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

From Middle English riden, from Old English rīdan, from Proto-West Germanic *rīdan, from Proto-Germanic *rīdaną (“to ride”), from Proto-Indo-European *Hreydʰ- (“to ride”), from *h₃reyH- (“to move”), from *h₃er- (“to move, stir”). Cognates From Proto-Germanic: North Frisian ride, ridj, rir (“to ride”), West Frisian ride (“to ride”), Dutch rijden, ryden (“to ride; to drive”), German reiten, reuten (“to ride”), German Low German rieden (“to ride; to drive”), Limburgish rieje (“to ride; to drive”), Luxembourgish reiden (“to ride”), Vilamovian raeita, rajta (“to ride”), Danish ride (“to ride”), Faroese and Icelandic ríða (“to ride”), Norwegian Bokmål ri, ride (“to ride”), Norwegian Nynorsk ri, rida, ride (“to ride”), Swedish rida (“to ride”). From Indo-European: Cornish ardh (“height”), Irish arad, ard, árd (“high, tall”), Manx ard (“high, tall”), Scottish Gaelic àrd (“high”), Welsh ardd (“hill, upland”), Latin irrītō (“to excite, incite, stimulate; to exasperate”), Ancient Greek ὀρῑ́νω (orī́nō, “to move, stir”), Albanian rashë (“to have fallen; to have flopped”), Russian ре́ять (réjatʹ, “to fly, hover, soar”), Armenian հառնել (haṙnel, “to get up; to rise up”), Northern Kurdish rîtin (“to shit”), Persian ریدن (ridan, “to shit; to fuck up, to screw up”), Tocharian A ar- (“to evoke; to produce, yield”), Tocharian B er- (“to evoke; to produce, yield”), Hittite 𒅈𒉡𒊻𒍣 (ar-nu-uz-zi, “to address, send”), Sanskrit रीति (rīti, “course, motion; current, stream; line, row”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionridenenm
  • Inherited-form mentionrīdanang
  • Inherited-form mention*rīdangmw-pro
  • Derivation mention*rīdanągem-pro · to ride
  • Derivation mention*Hreydʰ-ine-pro · to ride
  • Cognate mentionridefrr
  • Cognate mentionridefy · to ride
  • Cognate mentionrijdennl
  • Cognate mentionreitende
  • Cognate mentionriejeli · to ride; to drive
  • Cognate mentionreidenlb · to ride
  • Cognate mentionraeitawym
  • Cognate mentionrideda · to ride
  • Cognate mentionrinb
  • Cognate mentionrinn
  • Cognate mentionridasv · to ride
  • Cognate mentionardhkw · height
  • Cognate mentionaradga
  • Cognate mentionardgv · high, tall
  • Cognate mentionàrdgd · high
  • Cognate mentionarddcy · hill, upland
  • Cognate mentionirrītōla · to excite, incite, stimulate; to exasperate
  • Cognate mentionὀρῑ́νωgrc · to move, stir
  • Cognate mentionrashësq · to have fallen; to have flopped
  • Cognate mentionре́ятьru · to fly, hover, soar
  • Cognate mentionհառնելhy · to get up; to rise up
  • Cognate mentionrîtinkmr · to shit
  • Cognate mentionریدنfa · to shit; to fuck up, to screw up
  • Cognate mentionar-xto · to evoke; to produce, yield
  • Cognate mentioner-txb · to evoke; to produce, yield
  • Cognate mention𒅈𒉡𒊻𒍣hit · to address, send
  • Cognate mentionरीतिsa · course, motion; current, stream; line, row

This page abbreviates 25 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:riden"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*rīdan\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"rīdan\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"riden\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"ride\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"ride\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "riden"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English riden"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "rīdan"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English rīdan"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*rīdan"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *rīdan"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*rīdaną",
        "t": "to ride"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *rīdaną (“to ride”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*Hreydʰ-",
        "t": "to ride"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *Hreydʰ- (“to ride”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "cog"
      },
      "expansion": "Cognates"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "frr",
        "2": "ride"
      },
      "expansion": "North Frisian ride"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "ride",
        "t": "to ride"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian ride (“to ride”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "rijden"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch rijden"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "reiten"
      },
      "expansion": "German reiten"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "rieden",
        "t": "to ride; to drive"
      },
      "expansion": "German Low German rieden (“to ride; to drive”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "li",
        "2": "rieje",
        "t": "to ride; to drive"
      },
      "expansion": "Limburgish rieje (“to ride; to drive”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lb",
        "2": "reiden",
        "t": "to ride"
      },
      "expansion": "Luxembourgish reiden (“to ride”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "wym",
        "2": "raeita"
      },
      "expansion": "Vilamovian raeita"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "ride",
        "t": "to ride"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish ride (“to ride”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo,is",
        "2": "ríða",
        "t": "to ride"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese and Icelandic ríða (“to ride”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nb",
        "2": "ri"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål ri"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "ri"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk ri"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "rida",
        "t": "to ride"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish rida (“to ride”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ine"
      },
      "expansion": "Indo-European"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "kw",
        "2": "ardh",
        "t": "height"
      },
      "expansion": "Cornish ardh (“height”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ga",
        "2": "arad"
      },
      "expansion": "Irish arad"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gv",
        "2": "ard",
        "t": "high, tall"
      },
      "expansion": "Manx ard (“high, tall”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gd",
        "2": "àrd",
        "t": "high"
      },
      "expansion": "Scottish Gaelic àrd (“high”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cy",
        "2": "ardd",
        "t": "hill, upland"
      },
      "expansion": "Welsh ardd (“hill, upland”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "irrītō",
        "t": "to excite, incite, stimulate; to exasperate"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin irrītō (“to excite, incite, stimulate; to exasperate”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "grc",
        "2": "ὀρῑ́νω",
        "t": "to move, stir"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek ὀρῑ́νω (orī́nō, “to move, stir”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sq",
        "2": "rashë",
        "t": "to have fallen; to have flopped"
      },
      "expansion": "Albanian rashë (“to have fallen; to have flopped”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ru",
        "2": "ре́ять",
        "t": "to fly, hover, soar"
      },
      "expansion": "Russian ре́ять (réjatʹ, “to fly, hover, soar”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "hy",
        "2": "հառնել",
        "t": "to get up; to rise up"
      },
      "expansion": "Armenian հառնել (haṙnel, “to get up; to rise up”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "kmr",
        "2": "rîtin",
        "t": "to shit"
      },
      "expansion": "Northern Kurdish rîtin (“to shit”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fa",
        "2": "ریدن",
        "tr": "ridan",
        "t": "to shit; to fuck up, to screw up"
      },
      "expansion": "Persian ریدن (ridan, “to shit; to fuck up, to screw up”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "xto",
        "2": "ar-",
        "t": "to evoke; to produce, yield"
      },
      "expansion": "Tocharian A ar- (“to evoke; to produce, yield”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "txb",
        "2": "er-",
        "t": "to evoke; to produce, yield"
      },
      "expansion": "Tocharian B er- (“to evoke; to produce, yield”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "hit",
        "2": "𒅈𒉡𒊻𒍣",
        "tr": "ar-nu-uz-zi",
        "t": "to address, send"
      },
      "expansion": "Hittite 𒅈𒉡𒊻𒍣 (ar-nu-uz-zi, “to address, send”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sa",
        "2": "रीति",
        "t": "course, motion; current, stream; line, row"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit रीति (rīti, “course, motion; current, stream; line, row”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:riden"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "riden",
      "riden#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "rīdan",
      "ridan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*rīdan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/rīdan"
    ],
    [
      "*rīdaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/rīdaną"
    ],
    [
      "*Hreydʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/Hreydʰ-"
    ],
    [
      "*h₃reyH-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₃reyH-"
    ],
    [
      "*h₃er-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₃er-"
    ],
    [
      "ride",
      "ride#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "ridj",
      "ridj#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "rir",
      "rir#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "ride",
      "ride#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "rijden",
      "rijden#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "ryden",
      "ryden#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "reiten",
      "reiten#German"
    ],
    [
      "reuten",
      "reuten#German"
    ],
    [
      "rieden",
      "rieden#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "rieje",
      "rieje#Limburgish"
    ],
    [
      "reiden",
      "reiden#Luxembourgish"
    ],
    [
      "raeita",
      "raeita#Vilamovian"
    ],
    [
      "rajta",
      "rajta#Vilamovian"
    ],
    [
      "ride",
      "ride#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "Faroese",
      "ríða#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "ríða",
      "ríða#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "ri",
      "ri#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "ride",
      "ride#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "ri",
      "ri#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "rida",
      "rida#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "ride",
      "ride#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "rida",
      "rida#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "ardh",
      "ardh#Cornish"
    ],
    [
      "arad",
      "arad#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "ard",
      "ard#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "árd",
      "árd#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "ard",
      "ard#Manx"
    ],
    [
      "àrd",
      "àrd#Scottish_Gaelic"
    ],
    [
      "ardd",
      "ardd#Welsh"
    ],
    [
      "irrītō",
      "irrito#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "ὀρῑ́νω",
      "ὀρίνω#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "rashë",
      "rashë#Albanian"
    ],
    [
      "ре́ять",
      "реять#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "հառնել",
      "հառնել#Armenian"
    ],
    [
      "rîtin",
      "rîtin#Northern_Kurdish"
    ],
    [
      "ریدن",
      "ریدن#Persian"
    ],
    [
      "ar-",
      "ar-#Tocharian_A"
    ],
    [
      "er-",
      "er-#Tocharian_B"
    ],
    [
      "𒅈𒉡𒊻𒍣",
      "𒅈𒉡𒊻𒍣#Hittite"
    ],
    [
      "रीति",
      "रीति#Sanskrit"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "An instance of riding.",
        "A vehicle.",
        "An amusement ridden at a fair or amusement park.",
        "A lift given to someone in another person's vehicle."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal"
      ],
      "recordId": "3bd38c5ddb94641ec647d5facbea425916caf171b64b93d98a865eada1b14bba",
      "rawRecordSha256": "6fd6fbb1e22ac033cde7cbc7970a17682c9aff054e9c48c440570419e4aefca9",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 33934
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To transport oneself by sitting on and directing a horse, later also a bicycle etc.",
        "To be transported in a vehicle; to travel as a passenger.",
        "To transport (someone) in a vehicle.",
        "Of a ship: to sail, to float on the water."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "ambitransitive",
        "South-Africa",
        "US",
        "informal",
        "transitive",
        "intransitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "4d4652ce6fbca351bd1ff1e22d19ba6c4b31d92063186d845b20df2c12bb6e8e",
      "rawRecordSha256": "f2e41c9f8b0127f8935c51db847b885357ee255d068145541de1eecf4ca856c6",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 33933
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 25,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

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 ride →

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-cmlkZQ