An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/reiten
reiten, vb., ‘to ride,’ from MidHG. rîten, OHG. rîtan, ‘to move on, set out, drive, ride’; corresponding to Du. rijden, ‘to ride, drive, skate,’ AS. rîdan, E. to ride, OIc. ríða, ‘to ride, travel; swing, hover.’ These words are based on the common Teut. rîdan, with the general sense of continued motion. This, as well as the fact that in Teut. there is no vb. used exclusively for ‘to ride,’ makes it probable that the art of riding is comparatively recent. Besides, in the allied languages no single term expresses this idea. It is also known that the art among the Greeks appears after the time of Homer, and that it was still unknown to the Indians of the Rig-Veda. It is true that the Teutons are known to us as horsemen from their earliest appearance in history, but the evolution of the word reiten (comp. Lat. equo vehi) proves that the art is of recent origin. The Teut. verbal stem rī̆d, for pre-Teut. rī̆dh, reidh, corresponds to OIr. ríad, ‘driving, riding’ (ríadaim, ‘I drive’), OGall. rêda, ‘waggon’ (comp. Gr. ἔ-ριθος, ‘messenger, servant’?). The general meaning is seen also in AS. râd, f., ‘journey, expedition,’ E. road, as well as in the cognates under bereit.