"a king," 1610s, from Latin rex (genitive regis) "a king," related to regere "to keep straight, guide, lead, rule" (from PIE root *reg- "move in a straight line," with derivatives meaning "to direct in a straight line," thus "to lead, rule;" source also of Sanskrit raj- "king;" Old Irish ri "king," genitive rig).
"common deck hand, wharf worker," 1868, American English, perhaps from roust + about. But another theory connects it to British dialect rousing "rough, shaggy," a word associated perhaps with rooster. Meanwhile, compare rouseabout "a restless, roaming person" (1746), which seems to have endured in Australian and New Zealand English. With extended senses in U.S., including "circus hand" (1931); "manual laborer on an oil rig" (1948).
also raja, "king or prince in India," ruling either independently or as a feudatory, 1550s, from Hindi, from Sanskrit rajan "king," related to raj "kingdom, kingship," rajati "he rules," and cognate with Latin rex, Old Irish rig "king" (from PIE root *reg- "move in a straight line," with derivatives meaning "to direct in a straight line," thus "to lead, rule"). Related: Rajput, "member of the ruling caste in northern India" (1590s), from Sanskrit rajaputrah "prince," literally "king's son," from putrah "son, boy" (see puerile).
Old English rice "strong, powerful; great, mighty; of high rank" (senses now obsolete), in later Old English "wealthy;" from Proto-Germanic *rikijaz (source also of Old Norse rikr, Swedish rik, Danish rig, Old Frisian rike "wealthy, mighty," Dutch rijk, Old High German rihhi "ruler, powerful, rich," German reich "rich," Gothic reiks "ruler, powerful, rich"), borrowed from a Celtic source akin to Gaulish *rix, Old Irish ri (genitive rig) "king," from Proto-Celtic *rix, from PIE root *reg- "move in a straight line," with derivatives meaning "to direct in a straight line," thus "to lead, rule" (compare rex).
The form of the word was influenced in Middle English by Old French riche "wealthy, magnificent, sumptuous," which is, with Spanish rico, Italian ricco, from Frankish *riki "powerful," or some other cognate Germanic word. Old English also had a noun, rice "rule, reign, power, might; authority; empire" (compare Reich). The evolution of the word reflects a connection between wealth and power in the ancient world, though the "power" sense seems to be the oldest.
In transferred and extended senses from c. 1200. The meaning "magnificent" is from c. 1200; that of "of great value or worth" is from mid-13c. Of food and colors, "having an abundance of a characteristic quality that pleases the senses," from early 14c.; of sounds, from 1590s; of soils from 1570s. Sense of "entertaining, amusing" is recorded from 1760. The noun meaning "the wealthy" was in Old English.
English once had a related verb rixle "have domination, rule," from Old English rixian "to rule."
an early 16c. alteration of the older word, rightwise, which is from Old English rihtwis, of actions, "characterized by justice, morally right," of persons, "just, upright; sinless, conforming to divine law," from riht (see right (adj.1)) + wis "wise, way, manner" (see wise (adj.)). The alteration of the ending is by influence of courteous, etc. As a noun, "those who are righteous," Old English rehtwisan. The meaning "genuine, excellent" is 1942 in jazz slang. Related: Righteously.
Upright gets force from the idea of physical perpendicularity, a standing up straight by the standard of right ; righteous carries up the idea of right to the standards, motives, and sanctions of religion ; rightful applies not to conduct, but to claims by right : as, he is the rightful owner of the land ; just suggests by derivation a written law, but presumes that the law is a right one, or that there is above it, and if necessary overruling it, a law of God. This last is the uniform Biblical usage. Just generally implies the exercise of some power or authority. [Century Dictionary]
late 14c., rigour, "harshness, severity in dealing with persons; force; cruelty," from Old French rigor "strength, hardness" (13c., Modern French rigueur), from Latin rigorem (nominative rigor) "numbness, stiffness, hardness, firmness; roughness, rudeness," from rigēre "be stiff" (from PIE root *reig- "stretch; be stretched; be stiff").
Also, in medieval medicine, "a sudden chill" (c. 1400). From early 15c. as "exactness, strictness without indulgence" (of discipline, the law, etc.). Compare rigidity. Rigorism "rigidity in principles or practice" (originally religious) is from 1704. Rigidist is by 1716.
1620s, "stiffness, inflexibility," especially in mechanics, "resistance to change of form;" 1620s, from Latin rigiditas "stiffness," from rigidus "hard, stiff, rough, severe" (see rigid). By 1650s as "strictness, severity," but rigidity tends to be used of physical stiffness, while rigor is more active or moral. Rigidness (1640s) "perhaps holds a middle position" [Century Dictionary].
Rigidity is directly opposed to flexibility, and only indirectly to malleability and ductility, which depend chiefly on relations between the tenacity, the rigidity, and the limit of elasticity. [Century Dictionary]
