rhine
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
Rhine¹
- /ɹaɪn/
Rhymes with -aɪn
Where it comes from
From Middle English Rine, Ryne, from Old English Rīn (“the Rhine”), from Middle High German and Old High German Rīn, from Proto-West Germanic *Rīn, from Proto-Germanic *Rīnaz, from Gaulish Rēnos, from a Pre-Celtic or Proto-Celtic *reinos; one of a class of river names built from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reyH- (“to move, flow, run”).
Cognate with Old High German Rīn ("the Rhine"; > German Rhein), Old Norse Rín (“the Rhine”), Dutch Rijn (“the Rhine”). Related also to Latin rivus ("river"), in Celtic with an -n- suffix as in Old Irish rīan (“run”) (more at run).
The spelling with Rh- is due to the influence of Ancient Greek Ῥῆνος (Rhênos) (via French Rhin).
proper noun the Rhine
- A major river in western Europe, which flows through Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Germany, France and the Netherlands, before emptying into the North Sea. Roads on either side of the river Rhine will be closed as authorities seal off the large evacuation zone. The Unesco World Heritage Cologne Cathedral sits just outside the area.
rhine²
- /ɹaɪn/
Rhymes with -aɪn
Where it comes from
From Old English ryne. See run.
noun rhines · rean
- A watercourse; a ditch for water. the Black Ditch and the Langmoor Rhine
- A running waterway that links a ditch or stream to a river.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: rhein, rhine river, marne, neckar, ruhr, hesse, westphalia, nir, rhineland, westphalian, inn, reno, castled, nin, graben, reyn
Translations
Talk about this word "rhine." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/rhine. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. rhine. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/rhine "rhine." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/rhine.Cite this
@misc{rhine_2026,
title = {rhine},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/rhine},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
