Etymograph

English

riddance

Riddance may come from Old English hryding ‘a clearing, cleared land’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-1‘to cut’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hreuþaną2‘to make room, clear, empty’uncertain
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150hryding3‘a clearing, cleared land’uncertain
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500riddeings3uncertain
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598riddance3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *hreuþaną
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English hryding
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English riddance
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: “A gentle riddance. Draw the curtains, go. Let all…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *hreuþaną‘to cut’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hreuþanąWiktionary, Old English hryding‘to make room, clear, empty’uncertain
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150hrydingWiktionary, English riddance‘a clearing, cleared land’uncertain
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500riddeingsWiktionary, English riddanceuncertain
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598riddanceWiktionary, English riddance. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: “A gentle riddance. Draw the curtains, go. Let all…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut’

short, across, share, card, cross, screen, score, shirt, circle, circuit, cancer, crucial, curve, scare, circus, circulation, skirt, carnival, curb, scar, scrutiny, crest, circa, shrine, corona, shear, scorpion, cancellation, shred, carnage, raffle, circulate, carcinoma, corolla, scorn, shrewd, incarceration, crux, shard, carnal, 117 more

through Old English hryding ‘a clearing, cleared land’

ridding

Today it means

noun An act of ridding, clearance, or removal; elimination.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “riddance”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *hreuþaną, Old English hryding. 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-Indo-European *(s)ker- / riddance

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