English
ride
Ride comes from Old English rīdan, from Proto-Indo-European *Hreydʰ- ‘to ride’, perhaps ultimately from *h₃er- ‘to move’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃er-1‘to move, stir’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃reyH-1‘to move, set in motion’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hreydʰ-1‘to ride’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rīdaną1‘to ride’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*rīdan1‘to ride’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150rīdan1‘to ride’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500riden1
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1597ride1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English ride
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1597, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]: “Go Peto, to horse: for thou, and I, /…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃er-Wiktionary, English ride‘to move, stir’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃reyH-Wiktionary, English ride‘to move, set in motion’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hreydʰ-Wiktionary, English ride‘to ride’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rīdanąWiktionary, English ride‘to ride’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*rīdanWiktionary, English ride‘to ride’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150rīdanWiktionary, English ride‘to ride’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ridenWiktionary, English ride
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1597rideWiktionary, English ride. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1597, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]: “Go Peto, to horse: for thou, and I, /…”
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with ride, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- ‘to move, stir’
- run ← runnen
- original ← orīginālis ← orīgō ← orior ← *oriōr
- earn ← erne ← rennen ← rinnan ← *rinnaną
- origin ← origine ← origine ← orīgō ← orior
- abortion ← abortiōnem ← aborior ← orior ← *oriōr
- abort ← abortus ← aborior ← orior ← *oriōr
- orient ← oriēns
- ornithology ← ornithologia ← ὀρνιθολόγος ← ὄρνις ← *órn-īk-s ~ *órn-īkʷʰ-
- erne ← ern ← earn ← *arnu ← *arnuz
- orogeny ← orogénie ← ὄρος ← ὄρνυμι ← *h₃eros
through Proto-Indo-European *h₃reyH- ‘to move’
- rival ← rīvālis ← rīvus ← rīvos ← *rīwos
- derivative ← dérivatif ← dērīvātus ← dērīvō ← rīvō
49 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
verb To transport oneself by sitting on and directing a horse, later also a bicycle etc.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “ride”. 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 *h₃er- / ride