English
rigor
Rigor comes from Latin rigor ‘stiffness, rigidity, rigor, cold, harshness’, from Proto-Italic *rigā- ‘to lead toward’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Hreyǵ- ‘to stretch tight, bind’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hreyǵ-1‘to stretch tight, bind’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*rigā-1‘to lead toward’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErigō2as rigere‘to be rigid’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErigor2‘stiffness, rigidity, rigor, cold, harshness’
- Englishearliest quotation 2005rigor2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin rigo
- 2 Wiktionary, English rigor
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2005, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Pashazade: “Heat always upped the rate at which rigor gripped…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hreyǵ-Wiktionary, Latin rigo‘to stretch tight, bind’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*rigā-Wiktionary, Latin rigo‘to lead toward’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErigōWiktionary, English rigoras rigere‘to be rigid’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErigorWiktionary, English rigor‘stiffness, rigidity, rigor, cold, harshness’
- Englishearliest quotation 2005rigorWiktionary, English rigor. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2005, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Pashazade: “Heat always upped the rate at which rigor gripped…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *Hreyǵ- ‘to stretch tight, bind’
through Latin rigō ‘to be rigid’
through Latin rigor ‘stiffness, rigidity, rigor, cold, harshness’
Today it means
noun —
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “rigor”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin rigo. 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 *Hreyǵ- / rigor