Etymology: Probably < reke v.¹

Etymology: Origin uncertain; perhaps inferred < Old English forms of the 2nd and 3rd singular present indicative of reccan rech v. such as recst, recþ, where, as a result of syncopation, the consonant of the ending immediately followed the stem and prevented the assibilation of c (see A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. (1959) §438).Alternatively, the word may perhaps originally be the same as reke v.², a strong verb by which it appears to have been influenced in inflection, although the semantic development is difficult to account for. With sense 4 perhaps compare Middle Dutch rēken to tell, narrate (apparently a transferred use of rēken reke v.²).

Etymology: Apparently the reflex of Old English *recan, a strong verb of Class V (unattested as a simplex; however, compare gerecan (of blood) to coagulate, inrecan to heap up; see note), cognate with Old Frisian reka , Middle Dutch rēken (Dutch regional reken ), Old High German rehhan (Middle High German rechen , German rechen ), Gothic rikan , all in sense ‘to rake or heap up (especially ashes)’, probably < the same Indo-European base as ancient Greek ὀρέγειν to stretch out, classical Latin regere to direct (see regent adj.), and hence ultimately < the same base as right adj. and probably also rech v. Compare rake n.¹Old English gerecan and inrecan are very rarely attested; compare:eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in W. G. Stryker Lat.-Old Eng. Gloss. in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1951) 237 Ingesserunt, inræcan.OE Blickling Homilies 183 Þær þæt blod to samne geræc.OE Harley Gloss. (1966) 92 Congelauerat, tosomne geræc.The ultimate source of quot. eOE is Aldhelm De laude virginitatis 35. 279, alternatively glossed in Old English as behypedan and onheapedon.