An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/rüsten

by Friedrich Kluge

rüsten, verb, ‘to prepare, equip, arm,’ from Middle High German rüsten, Old High German rusten, earlier *hrustjan, ‘to arm, prepare, adorn’; compare Dutch rusten, Anglo-Saxon hyrstan (for hrystan), ‘to deck, adorn.’ A denominative of Old High German rust, ‘armour,’ Anglo-Saxon hyrst, ‘decoration, adornment, armour,’ which again are verbal abstracts from a Teutonic root hruþ, ‘to adorn.’ Compare Anglo-Saxon hreódan, ‘to adorn,’ Old Icelandic hrjóða, ‘to cleanse, discharge (a ship).’ May we also connected with this root hruþ, Teutonic *hrossa-, ‘charger,’ as a participle in ta- in the sense of ‘that which is adorned,’ in so far as it is an object of adornment? The Teutonic root hruþ (from Aryan kruth, krut?) has been said, probably without any proof, to exist in Greek κεκορυθμένος, ‘armed,’ κορύσσω, ‘to arm,’ κορυθ-, ‘helmet’; yet the dissyllable root κορυθ- cannot be made to tally with the Teutonic hruþ of one syllable. See also Gerüste.