Editing Rhine (section)

==Name==
The variants of the name of the Rhine (Latin Rhenus; French Rhin, Italian Reno, Romansh Rain or Rein, Dutch Rijn, Alemannic Ry, Ripuarian Rhing)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chr-khr.org/en/news/length-rhine-update-2015|title=Length of the Rhine (Update 2015) {{pipe}} International Commission for the Hydrology of the Rhine basin (CHR)|website=www.chr-khr.org}}</ref> in modern languages are all derived from the [[Gaulish language|Gaulish]] name ''{{lang|xtg|Rēnos}}'', which was adapted in [[Greco-Roman geography|Roman-era geography]] (1st century BC) as Latin ''{{lang|la|Rhenus}}'',{{notetag|The Rhine was not known in the Hellenistic period. It is mentioned by [[Cicero]], ''In Pisonem'' 33.81. [[Strabo]] (1.4.3) mentions the countries "at the mouth of the Rhine" {{lang|grc|αἱ τοῦ Ῥήνου ἐκβολαί}}; "states that the countries "beyond the Rhine and as far as [[Scythia]]" {{lang|grc|καὶ τὰ πέραν τοῦ Ῥήνου τὰ μέχρι Σκυθῶ}} should be considered unknown, as [[Pytheas]]' account of remote nations cannot be trusted.}} and as Greek {{lang|grc|Ῥῆνος}} (''{{transliteration|grc|Rhēnos}}'').

The spelling with ''Rh-'' in English ''Rhine'' as well as in German ''{{lang|de|Rhein}}'' and French ''{{lang|fr|Rhin}}'' is due to the influence of Greek orthography, while the vocalization ''-i-'' is due to the [[Proto-Germanic]] adoption of the Gaulish name as *''[[:wikt:Appendix:Proto-Germanic/Rīnaz|Rīnaz]]'', via [[Old Frankish]] giving [[Old English]] ''{{lang|ang|Rín}}'',<ref>Bosworth and Toller, ''An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary'' (1898), [http://lexicon.ff.cuni.cz/html/oe_bosworthtoller/b0799.html p. 799]. ''{{lang|ang|Sió eá ðe man hǽt Rín}}'' ''[[Orosius]]'' (ed. J. Bosworth 1859) 1.1</ref> [[Old High German]] ''{{lang|goh|Rīn}}'', early [[Middle Dutch]] ({{Circa|1200}}) ''{{lang|dum|Rijn}}'' (then also spelled ''{{lang|dum|Ryn}}'' or ''{{lang|dum|Rin}}'').<ref>[http://gtb.inl.nl/iWDB/search?actie=article&wdb=VMNW&id=ID30242&lemmodern=Rijn Rijn], ''Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek''</ref>

The modern German diphthong ''{{lang|de|Rhein}}'' (also used in [[Romansh language|Romansh]]) ''{{lang|rm|Rein, Rain}}'' is a [[Central German]] development of the [[Early New High German|early modern period]], with the [[Alemannic German|Alemannic]] name ''{{lang|gsw|Rhi(n)}}'' keeping the older vocalism. In Alemannic, the deletion of the ending ''-n'' in pausa is a recent development; the form ''{{lang|gsw|Rhin}}'' is largely preserved in [[Canton of Lucerne|Lucernese]] dialects.<ref>[http://digital.idiotikon.ch/idtkn/id6.htm#page/60993/mode/1up] ''[[Schweizerisches Idiotikon]]'' s.v. ''Rī(n)'' (6,994).</ref> ''{{lang|ksh|Rhing}}'' in [[Ripuarian language|Ripuarian]] is diphthongized, as is ''{{lang|pfl|Rhei, Rhoi}}'' in [[Palatine dialect|Palatine]]. While Spanish has adopted the Germanic vocalism ''{{lang|roa|Rin-}}'', Italian, Occitan, and Portuguese have retained the Latin ''{{lang|roa|Ren-}}''.

The Gaulish name ''Rēnos'' ([[Proto-Celtic]] or [[pre-Celtic]]{{notetag|
Krahe (1964) claims the hydronym as "[[Old European hydronymy|Old European]]", i.e. belonging to the oldest Indo-European layer of names predating the 6th century BC ([[Hallstatt culture|Hallstatt D]]) Celtic expansion.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Krahe |first1=H. |title=Unsere ältesten Flussnamen |trans-title=Our Oldest River Names |date=1964 |publisher=O. Harrassowitz |location=Wiesbaden |language=de |oclc=10374594 |hdl=2027/mdp.39015055266442}}</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2023}}}} ''*Reinos'') belongs to a class of river names built from the [[PIE root]] ''{{PIE|*rei-}}'' "to move, flow, run", also found in other names such as the [[Reno (river)|Reno]] in Italy.{{notetag|name=etym|In Albanian/Illyrian ''rrhedh'' also means to "move, flow, run". [[Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch|Pokorny's]] (1959) "3. ''{{PIE|er- : or- : r-}}'' 'to move, set in motion'" (pp. 326–32), [[Laryngeal theory|laryngealist]] ''{{PIE|*h<sub>1</sub>reiH-}}'', with an ''-n-'' suffix; Celtic reflexes: [[Old Irish]] ''renn'' "rapid", ''[[Rian|rīan]]'' "sea", Middle Irish ''rian'' "river, way".

The root gives the Germanic verb ''rinnan'' (' ← ''*ri-nw-an'') whence English ''[[:wikt:run|run]]'' (from a causative ''*rannjanan'', Old English ''eornan''); Gothic ''rinnan'' "run, flow", Old English ''rinnan'', Old Norse ''rinna'' "to run",, ''rinno'' "brook"; cf. Sanskrit ''rinati'' "causes to flow"; Root cognates without the ''-n-'' suffix include Middle Low German ''ride'' "brook", Old English ''riþ'' "stream", Dutch ''ril'' "running stream", Latin ''rivus'' "stream", Old Church Slavonic ''reka'' "river".; see also {{cite web |url= http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Rhine |title=Rhine |work=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=10 February 2009 |publisher=Douglas Harper |date=November 2001}}}}

The grammatical gender of the [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] name (as well as of its Greek and Latin adaptation) is masculine, and the name remains masculine in German, Dutch, French, Spanish and Italian. The Old English river name was variously inflected as masculine or feminine; and its [[Old Norse#Old Icelandic|Old Icelandic]] adoption was inflected as feminine.<ref>Bosworth and Toller, ''An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary'' (1898), [http://lexicon.ff.cuni.cz/html/oe_bosworthtoller/b0799.html p. 799]:
''Rín''; m.; f. The Rhine [...] O. H. Ger. ''Rín''; m.: Icel. ''Rín''; f.</ref>