From Middle English rewe, rowe, rawe, from Old English rǣw, rāw, probably from Proto-Germanic *raiwō, *raigwō, *raih-, from Proto-Indo-European *reyk- ("to carve, scratch, etch"). Cognate with dialectal Norwegian rå, Middle Dutch rīe, Dutch rij ("row, line"), Old High German rīga ("line"), rihan, Middle High German rige ("line, row, ditch"), rīhe, German Reihe ("row"), Middle Low German rēge, rīge, Old Norse rega ("string"), Middle Dutch rīghe, Dutch rijg, rijge, German Riege ("sports team").
From Middle English rowen ("to row"), from Old English rōwan ("to row"), from Proto-Germanic *rōaną ("to row"), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁- ("to row"). Compare West Frisian roeie, Dutch roeien, Danish ro. More at rudder.
Unclear; some suggest it is a , verb.
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