Online Etymology Dictionary

riding (n.2): one of the three districts into which Yorkshire was divided, late 13c., from late Old English *þriðing, a relic of Viking rule, from Old Norse ðriðjungr "third part," from ðriði "third" (see third). The initial consonant merged with final consonant of preceding north, west, or east.
riding (n.1): c. 1300, verbal noun from ride (v.). Meaning "teasing, annoying" is from 1927. Riding-hood, worn by women when riding or exposed to weather, is from mid-15c.
Riesling (n.): 1833, from German Riesling (15c.), the name of the grape, of uncertain origin.
rife (adj.): Old English rife "abundant, common, prevalent," from Proto-Germanic *rif- (source also of Old Norse rifr, Swedish river, Norwegian riv, Middle Dutch riif, Middle Low German rive "abundant, generous"), said to be from PIE root *rei- "to scratch, tear, cut" "The prevalence of the word in early southern texts is in favour of its being native in English, rather than an adoption from Scandinavian." [OED]
riff (n.): "melodic phrase in jazz," 1935 (but said to have been used by musicians since c. 1917), of uncertain origin, perhaps a shortened form of riffle, or altered from refrain. The verb is attested from 1942, from the noun. Also in extended use. Related: Riffed; riffing.
riffle (v.): 1754, "to make choppy water," American English, perhaps a variant of ruffle "make rough." The word meaning "shuffle" (cards) is first recorded 1894, probably echoic; hence that of "skim, leaf through quickly" (of papers, etc.) is from 1922. Related: Riffled; riffling.
riffraff (n.): also riff-raff, late 15c., from earlier rif and raf "one and all, everybody, every scrap," also "sweepings, refuse" (mid-14c.), from Old French rif et raf, from rifler "to spoil, strip" (see rifle (v.)). Second element from raffler "carry off," related to rafle "plundering," or from raffer "to snatch, to sweep together" (see raffle (n.)).
rifle (n.): 1775, "portable firearm having a spirally grooved bore," used earlier of the grooves themselves (1751), noun use of rifled (pistol), 1680s, from verb meaning "to cut spiral grooves in" (a gun barrel); see rifle (v.2).
rifle (v.1): "to plunder," early 14c. (implied in rifling), from Old French rifler "strip, filch, plunder, peel off (skin or bark), fleece," literally "to graze, scratch" (12c.), probably from a Germanic source (compare Old English geriflian "to wrinkle," Old High German riffilon "to tear by rubbing," Old Norse rifa "to tear, break"). Related: Rifled; rifling.
rifle (v.2): "to cut spiral grooves in" (a gun barrel), 1630s, probably from French rifler, from Old French rifler "to scratch or groove" (see rifle (v.1)). Related: Rifled; rifling.
rifleman (n.): 1775, from rifle (n.) + man (n.).
rift (n.): early 14c., "a split, act of splitting," from a Scandinavian source (compare Danish and Norwegian rift "a cleft," Old Icelandic ript (pronounced "rift") "breach;" related to Old Norse ripa "to break a contract" (see riven). Figurative use from 1620s. Geological sense from 1921. As a verb, c. 1300.
rig (v.): late 15c., originally nautical, "to fit with sails," probably from a Scandinavian source (compare Danish, Norwegian rigge "to equip," Swedish rigga "to rig, harness"), though these may be from English; perhaps ultimately from PIE *reig- "to bind." Slang meaning "to pre-arrange or tamper with results" is attested from 1938, perhaps a different word, from rig (n.) "a trick, swindle, scheme" (1775), earlier "sport, banter, ridicule" (1725), of unknown origin. Also there is rig (v.) "ransack" from 1560s, likewise of unknown origin. Related: Rigged; rigging.
rig (n.): "distinctive arrangement of sails, masts, etc. on a ship," 1822, from rig (v.). Extended to costume, clothing outfit (1843); horse-drawn vehicle (1831), which led to sense of "truck, bus, etc." (1851); and apparatus for well-sinking (1875).
Rig veda: 1776, from Sanskrit rigveda, from rg- "praise, hymn, spoken stanza," literally "brightness," from PIE *erkw- "to radiate, beam; praise" + veda "knowledge," from PIE *weid-o-, from root *weid- "to know, see" (see vision (n.)). A thousand hymns, orally transmitted, probably dating from before 1000 B.C.E. Related: Rig-vedic.
rigatoni (n.): "short, hollow, fluted tubes of pasta," 1930, from Italian rigatooni, plural of rigato, past participle of rigare "to draw a line, to make fluting," from riga "line; something cut out," from a Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *rigon- (see row (n.1)), from PIE *rei- "to scratch, tear, cut" (see riparian).
Rigel: bright star in Orion, 1590s, from Arabic Rijl Jauzah al Yusra "the Left Leg of the Central One," from rijl "foot."
rigging (n.): late 15c., "action of fitting (a ship) with ropes, etc.; 1590s as "ropes that work the sails of a ship," verbal noun from rig (v.).
right (adj.1): "morally correct," Old English riht "just, good, fair; proper, fitting; straight, not bent, direct, erect," from Proto-Germanic *rekhtaz (source also of Old Frisian riucht "right," Old Saxon reht, Middle Dutch and Dutch recht, Old High German reht, German recht, Old Norse rettr, Gothic raihts), from PIE root *reg- "move in a straight line," also "to rule, to lead straight, to put right" (see regal; source also of Greek orektos "stretched out, upright;" Latin rectus "straight, right;" Old Persian rasta- "straight, right," aršta- "rectitude;" Old Irish recht "law;" Welsh rhaith, Breton reiz "just, righteous, wise").

Compare slang straight (adj.1) "honest, morally upright," and Latin rectus "right," literally "straight," Lithuanian teisus "right, true," literally "straight." Greek dikaios "just" (in the moral and legal sense) is from dike "custom." As an emphatic, meaning "you are right," it is recorded from 1580s; use as a question meaning "am I not right?" is from 1961. The sense in right whale is "justly entitled to the name." Right stuff "best human ingredients" is from 1848, popularized by Tom Wolfe's 1979 book about the first astronauts. Right of way is attested from 1767. Right angle is from late 14c.
right (adj.2): "opposite of left," early 12c., riht, from Old English riht, which did not have this sense but meant "good, proper, fitting, straight" (see right (adj.1)). The notion is of the right hand as the "correct" hand. The usual Old English word for this was swiþra, literally "stronger." "The history of words for 'right' and 'left' shows that they were used primarily with reference to the hands" [Buck]. Similar sense evolution in Dutch recht, German recht "right (not left)," from Old High German reht, which meant only "straight, just."

The usual PIE root (*dek-) is represented by Latin dexter (see dexterity). Other derivations on a similar pattern to English right are French droit, from Latin directus "straight;" Lithuanian labas, literally "good;" and Slavic words (Bohemian pravy, Polish prawy, Russian pravyj) from Old Church Slavonic pravu, literally "straight," from PIE *pro-, from root *per- (1) "forward, through" (see per).

The political sense of "conservative" is first recorded 1794 (adj.), 1825 (n.), a translation of French Droit "the Right, Conservative Party" in the French National Assembly (1789; see left (adj.)).
right (v.): Old English rihtan "to straighten, rule, set up, set right, amend; guide, govern; restore, replace," from riht (adj.); see right (adj.1). Compare Old Norse retta "to straighten," Old Saxon rihtian, Old Frisian riuchta, German richten, Gothic garaihtjan. Related: Righted; righting.
right (n.): Old English riht (West Saxon, Kentish), reht (Anglian), "that which is morally right, duty, obligation," also "rule of conduct; law of a land;" also "what someone deserves; a just claim, what is due; correctness, truth; a legal entitlement, a privilege," from the root of right (adj.1). Meaning "the right" (as opposed to the left) is from mid-13c.; political use from 1825. From early 14c. as "a right action, a good deed." Meaning "a blow with the right fist" is from 1898. The phrase to rights "at once, straightway" is 1660s, from sense "in a proper manner" (Middle English).
right (adv.): Old English rehte, rihte "in a straight or direct manner," from right (adj.1). Right on! as an exclamation of approval first recorded 1925 in African-American vernacular, popularized mid-1960s by Black Panther movement.
right hand (n.): Old English rihthand; see right (adj.2) + hand (n.). Figurative for "indispensable person," 1520s; right-hand man first attested 1660s. Right-handed attested from late 14c.
right wing (n.): 1570s of armies; from 1882 in football; 1905 in the political sense (compare left wing). Right-winger attested by 1919 in U.S. politics, 1895 in sports.
right-minded (adj.): 1580s, from right (adj.) + minded.
righteous (adj.): early 16c. alteration of rightwise, from Old English rihtwis, from riht (see right) + wis "wise, way, manner" (see wise (adj.)). Suffix altered by influence of courteous, etc. Meaning "genuine, excellent" is 1942 in jazz slang. Related: Righteously.
righteousness (n.): Old English rehtwisnisse; see righteous + -ness.
rightful (adj.): Old English rihtful; see right (adj.1) + -ful. Related: Rightfully; rightfulness.
rightly (adv.): Old English rihtlice "justly, virtuously; properly, regularly, correctly;" see right (adj.1) + -ly (2).
righty (n.): "right-handed person," 1949, from right (adj.2) + -y (3).
rigid (adj.): early 15c., from Latin rigidus "hard, stiff, rough, severe," from rigere "be stiff," from PIE *reig- "stretch (tight), bind tightly, make fast" (source also of Old Irish riag "torture," Middle High German ric "band, string"). Related: Rigidly.
rigidity (n.): 1620s, from Latin rigiditas "stiffness," from rigidus (see rigid).
rigmarole (n.): 1736, "a long, rambling discourse," apparently from an altered, Kentish colloquial survival of ragman roll "long list or catalogue" (1520s), in Middle English a long roll of verses descriptive of personal characters, used in a medieval game of chance called Rageman, perhaps from Anglo-French Ragemon le bon "Ragemon the good," which was the heading on one set of the verses, referring to a character by that name. Sense transferred to "foolish activity or commotion" by 1939.
rigor (n.): late 14c., from Old French rigor "strength, hardness" (13c., Modern French rigueur), from Latin rigorem (nominative rigor) "numbness, stiffness, hardness, firmness; roughness, rudeness," from rigere "be stiff" (see rigid).
rigor mortis: "stiffening of the body caused by contraction of muscles after death," 1837, from Latin rigor "stiffness" (see rigor) + mortis, genitive of mors "death" (see mortal).
rigorous (adj.): late 14c., from Old French rigorous (13c., Modern French rigoureux), from Medieval Latin rigorosus, from Latin rigor (see rigor). Related: Rigorously.
rigour (n.): chiefly British English spelling of rigor (q.v.); for spelling, see -or.
rile (v.): 1825, American English spelling alteration to reflect a dialectal pronunciation of roil (q.v.); compare heist from hoist and in the same era spile for spoil (v.). Bartlett writes that in both England and America roil "is now commonly pronounced and written rile" ["Dictionary of Americanisms," 1848]. Related: Riled; riling.
rill (n.): "small brook, rivulet," 1530s, from or related to Dutch and Frisian ril, Low German rille "groove, furrow, running stream," probably from Proto-Germanic *ril- (source also of Old English rið, riþe "brook, stream," which survives only in dialects), a diminutive form from PIE root *reie- "to run, flow" (see Rhine).
rim (n.): Old English rima "edge, border, verge, coast," as in særima "seashore," literally "rim of the sea," and dægrima "dawn," literally "rim of the day." Related to Old Norse rime, rimi "a raised strip of land, ridge," Old Frisian rim "edge," but with no other known cognates. The snare drummer's rim shot (striking the rim and the head at once) is recorded from 1934.
rim (v.): 1794, "to fit with a rim," from rim (n.). Sexual senses from 1920s, some perhaps influenced by ream (v.). Related: Rimmed; rimming.
rime (n.): "hoarfrost," Old English hrim, from Proto-Germanic *khrima- (source also of Old Norse hrim, Dutch rijm, German Reif). Old French rime is of Germanic origin. Rare in Middle English, surviving mainly in Scottish and northern English, revived in literary use late 18c.
rind (n.): Old English rinde "bark, crust," later "peel of a fruit or vegetable" (c. 1400), from Proto-Germanic *rind- (source also of Old Saxon rinda, Middle Dutch and Dutch rinde "bark of a tree," Old High German rinda, German Rinde), probably related to Old English rendan (see rend (v.)).
ring (n.1): "circular band," Old English hring "small circlet, especially one of metal for wearing on the finger or as part of a mail coat; anything circular," from Proto-Germanic *hringaz "something curved, circle" (source also of Old Norse hringr, Old Frisian hring, Danish, Swedish, Dutch ring, Old High German hring, German Ring), from PIE *(s)kregh- nasalized form of (s)kregh-, from root *(s)ker- (3) "to turn, bend," with wide-ranging derivative senses (source also of Latin curvus "bent, curved," crispus "curly;" Old Church Slavonic kragu "circle," and perhaps Greek kirkos "ring," koronos "curved").

Other Old English senses were "circular group of persons," also "horizon." Meaning "place for prize fight and wrestling bouts" (early 14c.) is from the space in a circle of bystanders in the midst of which such contests once were held, "... a circle formed for boxers, wrestlers, and cudgel players, by a man styled Vinegar; who, with his hat before his eyes, goes round the circle, striking at random with his whip to prevent the populace from crowding in" [Grose, 1785]. Meaning "combination of interested persons" is from 1829. Of trees, from 1670s; fairy ring is from 1620s. Ring finger is Old English hringfingr, a compound found in other Germanic languages. To run rings round (someone) "be superior to" is from 1891.

Nursery rhyme ring a ring a rosie is attested in an American form (with a different ending) from c. 1790. "The belief that the rhyme originated with the Great Plague is now almost universal, but has no evidence to support it and is almost certainly nonsense" ["Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore"]. This proposal of connection dates only to the late 1960s.
ring (v.1): "sound a bell," Old English hringan "sound, give a certain resonant sound when struck; announce by bells," from Proto-Germanic *khrengan (source also of Old Norse hringja, Swedish ringa, Middle Dutch ringen), probably of imitative origin. Related: Rang; rung. Originally a weak verb, strong inflection began in early Middle English by influence of sing, etc. To ring down a theatrical curtain is from 1772, from the custom of signaling for it by ringing a bell. To ring up a purchase on a cash register is by 1937, from the bell that sounded. Specialized sense "give a resonant sound when struck as an indication of genuineness or purity," with transferred use (as in to ring hollow) is from 1610s.
ring (v.2): "make a circle around," Old English ymbhringan, from the root of ring (n.1). Intransitive sense "gather in a ring" is mid-15c. Sense of "provide or attach a ring" is late 14c. Meaning "move in a circle around" is from 1825. Related: Ringed; ringing. Compare Frisian ringje, Middle Dutch and Dutch ringen, Old High German ringan, German ringen, Old Norse hringa, hringja.
ring (n.2): 1540s, "set of church bells," from ring (v.1). Meaning "a call on the telephone" is from 1900; to give (someone) a ring "call on the telephone" was in use by 1910. Meaning "a ringing tone" is from 1620s; specifically "the ringing sound made by a telephone" by 1951. Meaning "resonance of coin or glass as a test of genuineness" is from 1850, with transferred use (ring of truth, etc.).
ring-road (n.): 1928, from ring (n.1) + road.
ringer (n.): early 15c., "one who rings" (a bell), agent noun from ring (v.1). In quoits (and by extension, horseshoes) from 1863, from ring (v.2). Especially in be a dead ringer for "resemble closely," 1891, from ringer, a fast horse entered fraudulently in a race in place of a slow one (the verb to ring in this sense is attested from 1812), possibly from British ring in "substitute, exchange," via ring the changes, "substitute counterfeit money for good," a pun on ring the changes in the sense of play the regular series of variations in a peal of bells (1610s). Meaning "expert" is first recorded 1918, Australian slang, from earlier meaning "man who shears the most sheep per day" (1871).