RATH (Gadhelic),
a round earthen fort or stronghold, cognate with the Welsh rhath, a mound or hill; e.g. Rathmore (the great fort); Ratass or Rathteas (the south fort); Rattoo or Rath-tuaith (northern fort); Rathbeg (little fort); Rathduff (black fort); Rathglass (green fort); Rathcoole (the fort of Cumhal, the father of Finn); Rathcormac (of Cormack); Rathdrum (of the ridge); Rathdowney, Irish Rath-tamhnaigh (of the green field); Rathbane (white fort); Rathfryland (Freelan’s fort)—all in Ireland. Rattray, in Perthshire, where there are the remains of an old fortress on a hill, and near what is called the Standing Stones, supposed to have been a Druidical temple; Rathven (hill-fort), in Banffshire; Rathmorail (the magnificent fort), in Aberdeenshire; Raphoe, Co. Donegal, abbrev. from Rathboth (the fort of huts).
REICH, REIKE (Goth.),
RICE (A.S.),
RIGH (Scand.),
a kingdom; e.g. France, i.e. Frank-reich (the kingdom of the Franks, who are supposed to have derived their name from a kind of javelin called franca); Austria, Œstreich (the eastern kingdom), as opposed to Neustria (the western); Surrey or Sud-rice (the southern kingdom); Goodrich, in Hereford (Goda’s rule or kingdom); Rastrick (Rasta’s rule), in Yorkshire; Norway or Nordrike (the northern kingdom); Ringerige, in Norway (the kingdom of King Ringe); Gothland, anc. Gotarike (the kingdom of the Goths); Sweden, anc. Sviarike (the kingdom of the Suiones).
REIDH (Gadhelic),
smooth, used also as a noun to signify a level field, and Anglicised re, rea, or rey; e.g. Remeen (the smooth plain); Muilrea (smooth hill, mullagh, p. 145); Rehill for Redh-choill (smooth wood).
REKA (Sclav.),
a river; e.g. Riga, Rega, Regan, Regnitz (river names); also the R. Spree, Sclav. Serbenreka (the river of the Serbs or Wends); Meseritz and Meseritsch (in the midst of rivers), in Moravia and Wallachia; Rakonitz (the town on the river), in Russia; Reka, the Sclavonic name for Fiume, It. (the river), a town on the Adriatic, at the mouth of a stream of the same name.
RHEDIG (Cym.-Cel.),
RUITH (Gadhelic),
REO (Grk.),
RUO (Lat.),
RI, SRI (Sansc.),
to flow, from whence are derived rivus and rivula, Lat.; rio, Span. and Port.; rivola, raes, and rith, A.S. (a stream). The Eng. river comes through the Fr. rivière, and that from riparia, in Mediæval Lat. a river, but literally a river-bank. From these root-words many river names are derived, or from rhe, rea (swift), joined to root-words signifying water; e.g. the Rhone, anc. Rhodanus, the Rhine, Rye, Rea, Rhee, Rhea, Rey, Rheus, Roe, Ruhr, etc.; Rio-doce and Rio-dulce (sweet or fresh river), in opposition to Rio-salada (salt river); Rio-branco (white river); Rio-bravo-del-norte (the great north river); Rio-grande-do-sul (the great south river); Rio-negro (black river); Rio-tinto (coloured river); Rio-colorado, with the same meaning; Rio-de-Janeiro, generally called Rio—so named by the Portuguese discoverer because the bay was discovered on the feast of St. Januarius: the city founded at the place, and now called Rio, was originally named St. Sebastian; Rio-de-Cobra (the snake river), in Jamaica; Rio-dos-Reis (the river of the kings), in Africa, so named by Vasco de Gama, because discovered on the feast of the Epiphany; Rio-de-Ouro (the river of gold), on the coast of Guinea; Rio-azul (the blue river); Rio-Marahão (the tangled river); Rio-de-la-Plata (the river of plata, i.e. silver), so called from the booty taken on its banks.