An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/rüsten

by Friedrich Kluge

rüsten, vb., ‘to prepare, equip, arm,’ from MidHG. rüsten, OHG. rusten, earlier *hrustjan, ‘to arm, prepare, adorn’; comp. Du. rusten, AS. hyrstan (for hrystan), ‘to deck, adorn.’ A denom. of OHG. rust, ‘armour,’ AS. hyrst, ‘decoration, adornment, armour,’ which again are verbal abstracts from a Teut. root hruþ, ‘to adorn.’ Comp. AS. hreódan, ‘to adorn,’ OIc. hrjóða, ‘to cleanse, discharge (a ship).’ May we also connected with this root hruþ, Teut. *hrossa-, ‘charger,’ as a partic. in ta- in the sense of ‘that which is adorned,’ in so far as it is an object of adornment? The Teut. root hruþ (from Aryan kruth, krut?) has been said, probably without any proof, to exist in Gr. κεκορυθμένος, ‘armed,’ κορύσσω, ‘to arm,’ κορυθ-, ‘helmet’; yet the dissyllable root κορυθ- cannot be made to tally with the Teut. hruþ of one syllable. See also Gerüste.