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*regną1‘rain’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*regn1‘rain’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150reġn1‘rain’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500reyn1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2019rain1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English rain
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2019, VOA Learning English: “This process involves cloud seeding – when various substances…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*regnąWiktionary, English rain‘rain’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*regnWiktionary, English rain‘rain’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150reġnWiktionary, English rain‘rain’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500reynWiktionary, English rain
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2019rainWiktionary, English rain. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 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.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Explore everything descended from *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-Germanicc. 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

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Today it means

noun Condensed water falling from a cloud.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “rain”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *regną / rain