Etymology: Cognate with West Frisian riis , rys willow twig, Middle Dutch rijs twig, small branch, branch (Dutch rijs ), Old Saxon hrīs twig, small branch (Middle Low German rise ), Old High German rīs , hrīs twig, small branch, branch (Middle High German rīs , German Reis ), Old Icelandic hrís brushwood, Old Swedish ris brushwood, rod (Swedish ris ), Old Danish riis brushwood, rod (Danish ris ), probably < an ablaut variant of the same Indo-European base as rese v.¹ and also (with varying suffixation or root extensions) classical Latin crīnis hair (see crine n.), classical Latin crista plume, crest (see crest n.¹), and classical Latin crispus curly (see crisp adj.; compare, probably < the same base, Old High German hrispahi, rispahi shrubbery, undergrowth, Middle High German rispe, German Rispe).The word is common in place names (apparently in sense 1), e.g. Acres , Kent (1086; now Acrise), Riseberia , Herefordshire (1086; now Risbury), Risebi , Lincolnshire (1086; now Risby), Riselai , Bedfordshire (1086; now Riseley), Ristun , East Riding, Yorkshire (1086; now Long Riston), Ristuna , Norfolk (1086; now Ruston), Risewarp , North Riding, Yorkshire (1145–8; now Ruswarp), Hokedris , Devon (1215; now Hookedrise), Rysdenne , Kent (c1225; now Riseden), etc., although some of the examples from Danelaw counties may reflect the early Scandinavian cognate. Earlier currency of count noun use (compare sense 3) is implied by place names derived from the Old English dative plural form (hrīsum ), e.g. Risun , East Riding, Yorkshire (1086; now Rise), Rison , East Riding, Yorkshire (1086; now Rysome Garth). An otherwise unattested Old English derivative adjective hrīsen overgrown with brushwood, (perhaps also) made from brushwood, is apparently shown in place names, as æt Hrisanbyrge , Buckinghamshire (10th cent.; also (in plural) æt Hrisanbeorgan (12th cent. in a late copy of a will of a975), Risenbeorgas (a1225 in a late copy of a will of a1005); now Monks and Princes Risborough), Risendune , Gloucestershire (1086; now Rissington), Risenbrige , Northamptonshire (c1220; now Rising Bridge). Earlier currency of sense 2a is perhaps implied by the latter example, if the sense ‘bridge or causeway made from brushwood’ is to be inferred.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French ris (Middle French, French riz ) rice (c1270), the plant which produces rice (1298) and its probable etymon post-classical Latin risa, risi, risia, risium, risum, risus, rizi, rizum (frequently from 13th cent. in British and Italian sources; the French word is probably, in spite of the chronology, partly via Italian riso rice (beginning of the 14th cent. or earlier), the plant which produces rice (c1350)), probably < Byzantine Greek ὀρύζιον (10th cent. denoting a food stuff; also attested in medical writers; compare the modern Greek form ῥύζι ), a diminutive formation (in -ιον : compare -y suffix⁴) < Hellenistic Greek ὄρυζα < an Iranian word (compare Pashto vrižē (feminine plural) rice; compare also Sanskrit vrīhi rice, although its exact relationship to the Iranian word is unclear), perhaps ultimately < a Dravidian language. The Italian form riso may perhaps have arisen from reanalysis of forms in final -i (either in Byzantine Greek or in post-classical Latin) as plural forms; a similar process may have given rise to post-classical Latin risum , rizum , risus (or they may show influence from Italian). The post-classical Latin forms cited above probably do not show any direct continuity with classical Latin oriza , oryza ( < Hellenistic Greek ὄρυζα ), nor with post-classical Latin risus one-grained spelt (6th cent.); however, such forms as post-classical Latin risa (in British sources) may perhaps show partial remodelling after the classical Latin word. Many details of the word's transmission are unclear. In the Middle Ages rice was something of a rarity in most of Western Europe. It was grown in Andalusia by the Moors, and then in Portugal and in Italy from the 15th cent.; elsewhere in Western Europe it was known only as a foreign plant or foodstuff or as an item of import, and was used in England in relatively exotic luxury cookery (or in medicinal uses) rather than as a staple foodstuff. In early use it was often ground into a powder or flour. (With flour of rice in early examples at sense 1 compare Anglo-Norman flur de ris (14th cent.).)It is uncertain whether examples such as the following, showing a vernacular word embedded in a Latin sentence, should be taken as showing the Anglo-Norman or the Middle English word:1234 Close Rolls Henry III (1905) I. 381 Dimidiam centenam de rys, et j. centenam piperis.1286 Wardrobe Accts. Bogo de Clare in Archaeologia (1918) 70 43 xv libre Ris pro Coquina. The word was ultimately borrowed also into other West Germanic and North Germanic languages, e.g.: Middle Dutch rijs (Dutch rijst, †rijs), Middle Low German rīs, riis, ries, Middle High German rīs (14th cent.; German Reis), Old Icelandic rís (14th cent.), Old Swedish ris (Swedish ris), early modern Danish riis, riss (Danish ris). Catalan arròs (1262), Spanish arroz (1250), and Portuguese arroz (15th cent.) reflect separate borrowings < Arabic al-ruzz < al the + ruzz rice (ultimately < an Indic language); compare also Arabic 'aruzz, variant (apparently with prothetic vowel) of ruzz.

Etymology: < rice n.² Compare earlier riced adj.² With sense 2 compare earlier riced adj.² 2, ricing n.², ricer n.