Etymograph

English

rig

Rig may come from North Germanic; Wiktionary does not name the North Germanic form.

  1. North Germanicmodernform not named1uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1557rig1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English rig
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1557, Thomas Tusser: “Sir Hew is a rigging thy gate or the…”.

Lineage

  1. North Germanicmodernform not namedWiktionary, English riguncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1557rigWiktionary, English rig. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1557, Thomas Tusser: “Sir Hew is a rigging thy gate or the…”

The story

Possibly from Proto-Germanic *rik- (‘to bind’), from Proto-Indo-European *rign-, *reyg- (‘to bind’); or related to Old English *wrīhan, wrīohan, wrēohan, wrēon (‘to bind; wrap up; cover’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Today it means

noun The rigging of a sailing ship or other such craft.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “rig”. 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 / rig

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