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Origin and history of rivulet

rivulet(n.)

"small stream or brook," 1580s, perhaps from Italian rivoletto, diminutive of rivolo, itself a diminutive of rivo "brook," from Latin rivus "stream, brook" (from PIE *reiwos "that which flows," from root *rei- "to run, flow"). For ending, see -let.

also from 1580s

Entries linking to rivulet

-let

diminutive noun-forming element, Middle English, from Old French -elet, which often is a double-diminutive. It consists of Old French diminutive -et, -ette (see -et) added to nouns in -el, which in many cases represents Latin diminutive -ellus; see -el (2)). "The formation did not become common until the 18th c." [OED].

*rei-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to flow, run."

It might form all or part of: derive; ember-days; rennet (n.1); Rhine; rialto; rill; rio; rival; rivulet; run; runnel.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit rinati "causes to flow," ritih "stream, course;" Latin rivus "stream;" Old Church Slavonic reka "river;" Middle Irish rian "river, way;" Gothic rinnan "run, flow," rinno "brook;" Middle Low German ride "brook;" Old English riþ "stream;" Old English rinnan, Old Norse rinna "to run," Dutch ril "running stream."

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    run
    Old English, "move swiftly by using the legs, go on legs more rapidly than walking," also "make haste, hurry; be active, pursue or follow a course," and, of inanimate things, "to move over a course." The modern verb is a merger of two related Old English words, in both of which t
    urn
    late 14c., "large, rounded vase used to preserve the ashes of the dead," from Latin urna "a jar, vessel of baked clay, water-jar; vessel for the ashes of the dead" (also used as a ballot box and for drawing lots), probably from earlier *urc-na, akin to urceus "pitcher, jug," and
    master
    late Old English mægester "a man having control or authority over a place; a teacher or tutor of children," from Latin magister (n.) "chief, head, director, teacher" (source of Old French maistre, French maître, Spanish and Italian maestro, Portuguese mestre, Dutch meester, Germa
    stream
    Middle English strem "course of water, current of a stream, body of water flowing in a natural channel," from Old English stream, from Proto-Germanic *strauma- (source also of Old Saxon strom, Old Norse straumr, Danish strøm, Swedish ström, Norwegian straum, Old Frisian stram, Du
    superstition
    early 13c., supersticioun, "false religious belief or system, worship of pagan gods; ignorant fear of the unknown and mysterious, irrational faith in supernatural powers," from Latin superstitionem (nominative superstitio) "prophecy, soothsaying; dread of the supernatural, excess
    innocent
    mid-14c., "doing no evil; free from sin, guilt, or moral wrong," from Old French inocent "harmless; not guilty; pure" (12c.), from Latin innocentem (nominative innocens) "not guilty, blameless; harmless; disinterested," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + nocentem (nominative nocens),
    carpenter
    "artificer in timber, one who does the heavier sort of wood-working," c. 1300 (attested from early 12c. as a surname), from Anglo-French carpenter, Old North French carpentier (Old French and Modern French charpentier), from Late Latin (artifex) carpentarius "wagon (maker); carri
    clue
    "anything that guides or directs in an intricate case," 1590s, a special use of a revised spelling of clew "a ball of thread or yarn" (q.v.). The word, which is native Germanic, in Middle English was clewe, also cleue; some words borrowed from Old French in -ue, -eu also were spe
    sermon
    c. 1200, sermoun, sarmun, "a discourse upon a text of scripture; that which is preached," from Anglo-French sermoun, Old French sermon, sermun "speech, words, discourse; church sermon, homily" (10c.) and directly from Latin sermonem (nominative sermo) "continued speech, conversat
    adventure
    c. 1200, aventure, auenture "that which happens by chance, fortune, luck," from Old French aventure (11c.) "chance, accident, occurrence, event, happening," from Latin adventura (res) "(a thing) about to happen," from fem. of adventurus, future participle of advenire "to come to,

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