From Middle English ritten, from Old English *rittan (compare Old High German rizzen), from Proto-West Germanic *rittjan, from Proto-Germanic *ritjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *wrid-néh₂-; see *hrītaną.
Compare with Proto-Slavic *rězati ("to cut, carve, engrave")). Cognate with German ritzen ("to scratch"). See also rat.
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