Rife
/raɪf/noun
Widespread or common, especially in an undesirable way.
Did you know?Rife is historically tied to a Germanic root meaning “to be in abundance” and is related to words like rife, reave, and rife?—but its modern “widespread” sense became especially powerful in English when used for diseases, rumors, and corruption.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*rei-
“to flow, run, or move swiftly”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*rīpaz
“abundant, plentiful”
Old Norse
ON
rífr
“plentiful, abundant”
Middle English
English
rife
“abundant, copious; later, prevalent”
Modern English
English
rife
“widespread, especially in an undesirable way”