† rekenadj.n.

Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian reken , rekin , rekon in good order or condition, (of a road) open, clear, unobstructed, Middle Low German rēken (also rek ) free from encumbrance or legal claim, sufficient, adequate, enough (German regional (Low German: Bremen) reken (of a road) open, clear, unobstructed (18th cent.)), probably < an adjectival use of the past participle of the Germanic base of reke v.² (and hence ultimately < the same base as right adj. and probably also rech v.); the semantic development is perhaps from ‘raked or heaped up’ to ‘that has been put in order, clear, unobstructed’ to ‘having unimpeded movement, quick, swift’ (the latter stage being attested only in English, where it constitutes the primary sense of the word in Old English); see further F. Heidermanns Etymol. Wörterbuch der germanischen Primäradjektive (1993) 444–5. Compare Old Saxon rekōn to put in order (Middle Low German rēken ), probably a verbal derivative from a shortened form of the adjective (compare Middle Low German rek : see above). Compare reckon v.The α. and β. forms apparently reflect Germanic suffix ablaut, with (in the β. forms) subsequent raising of the stem vowel from e to i before the i of the suffix (compare H. Krahe & W. Meid Germanische Sprachwissensch. (ed. 7, 1969) III. §94.1, A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. (1959) §112). With senses 2a, 2b compare early use as a surname: Ricardus le Rekne (1327), Willelmus le Rekene (1327), etc.