rid
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɹɪd/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪd
Etymology 1
Fusion of Middle English redden (“to deliver from, rid, clear”) (from Old English hreddan (“to deliver, rescue, free from, take away”), from Proto-Germanic *hradjaną (“to save, deliver”)) and Middle English ridden (“to clear away, remove obstructions”) (from Old English ġeryddan (“to clear land”), from Proto-Germanic *riudijaną (“to clear”), from Proto-Indo-European *reudh- (“to clear land”). Akin to Old Frisian hredda (“to save”), Dutch redden (“to save, deliver”),German retten (“to save, deliver”), roden (“to clear”) and reuten (“to clear”), Old Norse ryðja (“to clear, empty”), Old Norse hrōðja (“to clear, strip”). More at redd.
Adjective
rid (not comparable) (not used attributively)
- Released from an obligation, problem, etc. (usually followed by of).
- I’m glad to be rid of that stupid nickname.
Translations
Verb
rid (third-person singular simple present rids, present participle ridding, simple past rid or ridded, past participle rid)
- (transitive) To free (something) from something else.
- We're trying to rid the world of poverty.
- 1170, King Henry II (offhand remark)
- Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?
- 2014, Jacob Steinberg, "Wigan shock Manchester City in FA Cup again to reach semi-finals", The Guardian, 9 March 2014:
- All the billions in the world and Manchester City still cannot rid themselves of the most persistent thorn in their side.
Derived terms
Translations
References
- “rid” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2019.
Verb
rid
- (obsolete) simple past tense and past participle of ride
- William Makepeace Thackeray
- He rid to the end of the village, where he alighted.
- 1930, William Faulkner, As I Lay Dying, Library of America, 1985, p.67:
- "He would have rid that horse, too," pa says, "if I hadn't a stopped him. A durn spotted critter wilder than a catty-mount. A deliberate flouting of her and me."
- William Makepeace Thackeray