róðr

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *rōþrą. Compare the verb róa (“to row”). Scandinavian form: *rōþʀ (*rōþrʀ) actually seems to have come from the masculine gender *rōþruz/*rōþraz instead of the neutral *rōþrą, less likely from the hypothetical genitive.

Noun

róðr ?

1. rudder

Descendants

• Icelandic: róður m
• Faroese: róður m (“rowing”)
• Old East Norse:
  • Old Swedish: roþer
    • Swedish: rodd c
    • ⇒ Swedish: rod, Roden (“the coastal region of Uppland”)
      • ⇒ Swedish: Roslagen
  • → Proto-Finnic: *roocci (from the genitive *roþs-)
    • Estonian: rootsi, Rootsi, (archaic) roots
    • Finnish: ruotsi, Ruotsi
      • Kven: Ruottii
      • Meänkieli: Ruotti
    • Ingrian: rootsi, Rootsi
    • Karelian:
      • North Karelian: ruočči, Ruočči
      • South Karelian: ruočči, Ruočči
    • Livonian: rūotš, Rūotšmō
    • Livvi: ruočči, Ruočči
    • Ludian: ruoč
    • Veps: Ročinma
    • Võro: ruuts', Roodsi
    • Votic: roottsi
    • → Old East Slavic: Русь (Rusĭ) (see there for further descendants)
    • → Old Novgorodian: Роусь (Rusĭ)
    • → Proto-Permic:
      • Komi-Permyak: роч (roć)
      • Komi-Zyrian: роч (roć)
      • Udmurt: ӟуч (dźuć)
    • → Proto-Samic:
      • Inari Sami: Ruotâ
      • Kildin Sami: Рӯц (Rūc)
      • Northern Sami: Ruoŧŧa
      • Skolt Sami: Ruõcc
      • Ume Sami: Ruohtsa

Further reading

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “róðr”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive