Etymograph

English

rigour

Rigour comes from Old French rigor ‘harshness’, from Latin rigeō ‘to be rigid’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Hreyǵ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hreyǵ-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*rigēō1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErigeō1‘to be rigid’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErigor2‘stiffness, rigidity, rigor, cold, harshness’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400rigor2‘harshness’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rigour2
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1611rigour2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin rigor
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English rigour
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hreyǵ-Wiktionary, Latin rigorreconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*rigēōWiktionary, Latin rigorreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErigeōWiktionary, Latin rigor‘to be rigid’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErigorWiktionary, English rigour‘stiffness, rigidity, rigor, cold, harshness’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400rigorWiktionary, English rigour‘harshness’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rigourWiktionary, English rigour
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1611rigourWiktionary, English rigour. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *Hreyǵ-

reach, irrigation, rigorous, 6 more

through Proto-Italic *rigēō

rigidity, 2 more

through Latin rigeō ‘to be rigid’

rigid, 3 more

through Latin rigor ‘stiffness, rigidity, rigor, cold, harshness’

rigor, 1 more

Today it means

noun Severity or strictness.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “rigour”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin rigor. 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- / rigour

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