*rei-

Meanings

1.
to scratch, to cut, ripping
(Notable English members of this family are "row" and at least according to German sources also "ripe" and "reap". )
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Word Family

Root: *rei-

The core idea of this root (if it existed) was:

scratching, tearing, cutting

However, at least a branch of the family tree has focused on the resulting “trace” of scratching along something – that’s where the row and die Reihe are from.

According to the German etymological source that I am using (dwds.de), the root is also the origin of German reif and its English brothers ripe and reap. The idea here is that something is “ready to be cut off”.

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