"liable to fall down," 1680s, from rickets (with + -y (2)), via notion of "weak, unhealthy." Literal sense is from c. 1720 but never common in English. Of material things, from 1799.
a rickety table
rickety limbs and joints
Richter scale
ricin
rick
rickets
rickettsia
rickety
rickey
rickshaw
ricochet
ricotta
rid
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