Origin and history of rid

also red, c. 1300, redden, "to clear" (a space, etc.), "rid of encumbrance," from Old English hreddan "to save, free from (Satan, guilt, etc.), deliver, recover, rescue," from Proto-Germanic *hradjan (source also of Old Frisian hredda, Dutch redden, Old High German retten).

Sense evolution tended to merge it with unrelated rid. It is also possibly influenced by Old English rædan "to arrange," which is related to Old English geræde, source of ready (adj.). Related: Redding.

A dialect word in Scotland and northern England, where it has had senses of "to fix" (boundaries), "to comb" (out one's hair), "to separate" (combatants), "to settle" (a quarrel). The exception to the limited use is the meaning "to put in order, to make neat or trim" (1718), especially in redd up, which is in general use in England and the U.S. The same phrase, in the same sense, in Pennsylvania Dutch may be from cognate Low German and Dutch redden, obviously connected historically to the English word, "but the origin and relationship of the forms is not clear" [OED].

mid-14c., "that has ridden or travelled," past-participle adjective from ride (v.). The sense evolution, via horses, is from "that which has been ridden upon" to "broken in" (1520s) to, in compounds, "oppressed, taken advantage of" (c. 1600s, wife-ridden; also compare hag-ridden). In reference to witches, nightmares, etc., "to sit on or to ride as a horse" by 1590s.

1530s, "a cleaning out, removal, clearance," from rid + -ance. The meaning "a deliverance from something superfluous or unwanted" is from 1590s. Good riddance, "a welcome relief from unpleasant company or an embarrassing connection" attested from 1650s. Shakespeare has gentle riddance (1590s); Middleton has fair riddance (1610s).