Online Etymology Dictionary

ring (n.): Old English hring "circular band," from Proto-Germanic *khrengaz (cf. Old Norse hringr, Old Frisian hring, German Ring), literally "something curved," from PIE *skrengh- nasalized form of (s)kregh-, from root *(s)ker- "to turn, bend," with wide-ranging derivative senses (cf. Latin curvus "bent, curved," crispus "curly;" Old Church Slavonic kragu "circle," and perhaps Greek kirkos "ring," koronos "curved").

Meaning "place for prize fight and wrestling bouts" (early 14c.) is from the space in a circle of bystanders in which such contests were once held (ringside is attested from 1866). Meaning "combination of interested persons" is from 1829. Tree ring is from 1670s; fairy ring is from 1620s. 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 connection only dates to the 1960s.
ring (v.1): "sound a bell," Old English hringan, from Proto-Germanic *khrenganan (cf. Old Norse hringja, Swedish ringa, Middle Dutch ringen), probably of imitative origin. To give (someone) a ring "call on the telephone" was in use by 1910. To ring down a theatrical curtain is from 1772, from the custom of signaling for it by ringing a bell.
ring (v.2): "make a circle around," Old English ymbhringan, from the root of ring (n.). Related: Ringed; ringing.
ringer (n.): especially 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).
ringleader (n.): c.1500, from Middle English phrase to lead the ring (mid-14c.), probably from a medieval metaphor from dancing.
ringlet (n.): 1550s, from ring (n.) + diminutive suffix -let. Of hair, since 1660s.
ringmaster (n.): 1842, from ring (n.) in the circus sense + master (n.).
ringworm (n.): early 15c., from ring (n.) + worm (n.).
rink (n.): late 14c., Scottish dialect, probably from Old French renc, reng "row, line," from Frankish and ultimately connected with ring (n.). Probably confused in meaning with ring (n.) in sense of "area marked out for a sporting contest." Ice hockey sense first attested 1896.
rinky-dink (adj.): said to be early 20c. carnival slang and imitative of the sound of banjo music at parades, but early records suggest otherwise. The earliest senses seem to be as a noun, "maltreatment," especially robbery:
So I felt and saw that I was robbed and I went to look after an officer. I found an officer on the corner of Twenty-fifth street and Sixth avenue. I said, "Officer, I have got the rinky-dink." He knew what it meant all right. He said, "Where? Down at that wench house?" I said, "I guess that is right." [testimony dated New York August 9, 1899, published 1900]
And this chorus from the "Yale Literary Magazine," Feb. 1896:
Rinky dinky, rinky dink,
Stand him up for another drink.
rinse (v.): c.1300 (mid-13c. in surname rinsfet), from Old French reincier (Modern French rincer), proably dissimilated from recincier, from Vulgar Latin *recentiare "to make fresh, to wash, cleanse with water," from Late Latin recentare "to make fresh," from Latin recens "new, fresh" (see recent). OED says similarity in form and sense with Old Norse hreinsa is "prob[ably] accidental." Related: Rinsed; rinsing.
rinse (n.): 1837, from rinse (v.).
rio: "a river," from Spanish rio, from Latin rivus "brook, stream" (see rivulet).
Rio de Janeiro: literally "January River," named by explorer Amerigo Vespucci because he discovered it on Jan. 1, 1502, and so called because he incorrectly thought the bay was the estuary of a large river. See January.
riot (n.): early 13c., "debauchery, extravagance, wanton living," from Old French riote (masc. riot) "dispute, quarrel," perhaps from Provençal riota, of uncertain origin. Meaning "public disturbance" is first recorded late 14c. Meaning "something spectacularly successful" first recorded 1909 in theater slang. Run riot is first recorded 1520s, a metaphoric extension from Middle English meaning in reference to hounds following the wrong scent. The Riot Act, part of which must be read to a mob before active measures can be taken, was passed 1714 (1 Geo. I, st.2, c.5). Riot girl and alternative form riot grrl first recorded 1992.
riot (v.): late 14c., "behave in a dissolute manner, engage in loose revelry," from Old French riotter, from riote (see riot (n.)). Related: Rioted; rioting.
riotous (adj.): late 14c., from Old French riotous, from riote (see riot). Related: Riotously; riotousness.
rip (v.): "tear apart," late 15c., probably of North Sea Germanic origin (cf. Flemish rippen "strip off roughly," Frisian rippe "to tear, rip") or else from a Scandinavian source (cf. Swedish reppa, Danish rippe "to tear, rip"). In either case, probably imitative of the sound of cloth ripping.

Meaning "to move with slashing force" (1798) is the sense in let her rip, American English colloquial phrase attested from 1853. The noun is attested from 1711; rip cord (1909) originally was in ballooning. The verbal phrase rip off "to steal or rob," is first recorded c.1967 in black slang, but rip was prison slang for "to steal" since 1904, and was also used in this sense in 12c. Rip-off (n.) is attested from 1970.
rip (n.1): "rough water," 1775, perhaps a special use of rip (v.). Originally of seas; application to rivers is from 1857. Rip-tide (also riptide) is attested from 1862 but isn't a tide.
rip (n.2): "thing of little value," 1815, earlier "inferior or worn-out horse" (1778), perhaps altered from slang rep (1747) "man of loose character," which is itself perhaps short for reprobate (q.v.).
Rip Van Winkle: "person out of touch with current conditions," 1829, from name of character in Washington Irving's "Sketch Book" (1819-20).
riparian (adj.): "of or pertaining to river banks," 1849, from Latin riparius "of a river bank," from riparia "shore," later used in reference to the stream flowing between the banks, from ripa "(steep) bank of a river, shore," probably literally "break" (and indicating the drop off from ground level to the stream bed), or else "that which is cut out by the river," from PIE root *rei- "to scratch, tear, cut" (cf. Greek ereipia "ruins," eripne "slope, precipice;" Old Norse rifa "break, to tear apart;" Danish rift "breach," Middle High German rif "riverbank, seashore;" cf. riven, rift, rifle).
ripe (adj.): Old English ripe "ready for reaping, fit for eating," from West Germanic *ripijaz (cf. Middle Dutch ripe, Dutch rijp, Old High German rifi, German reif); related to Old English repan "to reap" (see reap).
ripen (v.): "to grow ripe," 1560s, from ripe + -en (1). Related: Ripened; ripening. Earlier, the verb was simply ripe, from late Old English ripian, from the adjective.
riposte (n.): 1707, "a quick thrust after parrying a lunge," a fencing term, from French riposte, by dissimilation from risposte, from Italian risposta "a reply," from rispondere "to respond," from Latin respondere (see respond). Sense of "sharp retort" is first attested 1865.
ripper (n.): 1610s, agent noun from rip (v.). Meaning "killer who mutilates his victims" (1890) is from Jack the Ripper, notorious London murderer, whose nickname contains a pun on ripper in sense of "tool for ripping" old slates, etc. (1823) and the slang meaning "excellent person or thing, a 'ripping' fellow" (1838), from ripping "excellent, splendid" (1826).
ripple (v.): 1660s, "to present a ruffled surface," of unknown origin, perhaps a frequentative of rip (v.). Related: Rippled; rippling.
ripple (n.): "very small wave," 1798, from earlier meaning "stretch of shallow, rippling water" (1755), from ripple (v.). Meaning "ice cream streaked with colored syrup" first attested 1939, so called from its appearance.
riprap (n.): also rip-rap, "loose stone thrown down in water or soft ground as foundation," 1822, American English, from earlier nautical meaning "stretch of rippling water" (often caused by underwater elevations), 1660s, probably of imitative origin (cf. riprap "a sharp blow," 1570s).
riproaring (adj.): 1834, altered from riproarious (1830), from rip (v.) "tear apart" + (up)roarious (1819); see uproar.
ripsnorter (n.): "something of exceptional strength," 1840, probably from rip (v.) + snort (v.).
rise (v.): Old English risan (usually arisan; class I strong verb; past tense ras, past participle risen), from Proto-Germanic *us-risanan "to go up" (cf. Old Norse risa, Gothic urreisan "to rise," Old High German risan "to rise, flow," German reisen "to travel," originally "to rise for a journey"). Related to raise. The noun meaning "upward movement" is from 1570s; the meaning "a piece of rising ground" is from 1630s. Phrase to get a rise out of (someone) (1834) is a metaphor from angling (1650s).
riser (n.): late 14c., agent noun from rise (v.). Meaning "upright part of a step" is from 1771.
risible (adj.): 1550s, "given to laughter," from Late Latin risibilis "laughable, able to laugh," from Latin risus, past participle of ridere "to laugh." Meaning "capable of exciting laughter, comical" is from 1727.
risk (n.): 1660s, risque, from French risque, from Italian risco, riscio (modern rischio), from riscare "run into danger," of uncertain origin. The anglicized spelling first recorded 1728. Spanish riesgo and German Risiko are Italian loan-words. Risk aversion is recorded from 1942; risk factor from 1906; risk management from 1963; risk taker from 1892.
risk (v.): 1680s, from risk (n.). Related: Risked; risks; risking.
risky (adj.): 1826, from risk (n.) + -y (2).
risorgimento (n.): 1889, "movement which led to the unification and independence of Italy," Italian, literally "uprising" (of Italy against Austria, c.1850-60), from risorgere, from Latin resurgere (see resurgent).
risotto (n.): rice cooked in broth with meat and cheese, 1848, from Italian risotto, from riso "rice" (see rice). At first in Italian contexts; it begins to appear in English cookery books c.1880.
risque (adj.): "tending toward impropriety," 1867, borrowed from French risqué, past participle of risquer (see risk).
Ritalin: proprietary name (Ciba Ltd., originally in Switzerland) for drug methylphenidate hydrochloride, copyrighted 1948, years before the drug itself was marketed.
ritardando: 1811, from Italian, present participle of ritardare, from Latin retardare (see retardation).
rite (n.): early 14c., from Latin ritus "religious observance or ceremony, custom, usage," perhaps from PIE root *re(i)- "to count, number" (cf. Greek arithmos "number," Old English rim "number;" see read). Rite of passage (1909) is translated from French rite de passage, coined by French anthropologist Arnold van Gennep (1873-1957).
ritual (adj.): 1560s, from Latin ritualis "relating to (religious) rites," from ritus "rite" (see rite). The noun is first recorded 1640s.
ritualistic (adj.): 1844; see ritual + -istic.
ritz: "high quality, superiority," 1910 (Ritzian, adj., is attested by 1908), in reference to the luxurious Ritz hotels in N.Y., London, Paris, etc., commemorating Swiss hotelier César Ritz (1850-1918). To put on the ritz "assume an air of superiority" is recorded from 1926. A verb ritz "to behave haughtily" is recorded from 1911.
ritzy: 1920, from ritz + -y (2). Related: Ritziness.
rival (n.): 1570s, from Latin rivalis "a rival," originally, "one who uses the same stream" (or "one on the opposite side of the stream"), from rivus "brook" (see rivulet). The notion is of the competitiveness of neighbors.
rival (v.): c.1600, from rival (n.). Related: Rivaled; rivaling.
rivalry (n.): 1590s; from rival + -ery. Rivality in the same sense is recorded from 1580s.