Rist
/rɪst/noun
A Scots or dialectal form of “wrist,” referring to the joint connecting the hand and forearm.
Did you know?The word belongs to an ancient Germanic family associated with twisting or turning, reflecting the wrist’s rotational movement.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wer-
“To turn, bend, or twist; a reconstructed root associated with later Germanic words for twisting body parts.”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*wristiz
“The wrist, probably named for its turning or twisting function.”
Old English
Old English
wrist
“The wrist or joint of the hand.”
Middle English
Middle English
wrist
“The wrist; the initial consonant cluster was retained in the standard form.”
Scots and Northern Dialects
Scots
rist
“A dialectal form of “wrist,” created through loss of the initial /w/ sound.”
Modern English
English
rist
“An obsolete or dialectal word for the wrist, mainly preserved in Scots usage.”