An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/reif

by Friedrich Kluge

reif, adj., ‘ripe, mature,’ from the equiv. MidHG. rîfe, OHG. rîfi, adj.; corresponding to the equiv. OSax. rîpi, Du. rijp, AS. rîpe, E. ripe; a verbal adj. allied to AS. rī̆pan, ‘to reap’ (whence E. to reap), signifying ‘that which can be reaped.’ The Teut. root rîp, with the orig. sense ‘to cut, reap’ (comp. AS. rîfter, ‘sickle’), has not yet been found in the other Aryan languages.