Reiða

Reiða is a historic Icelandic verb meaning “to ride,” attested in Old Norse and early Icelandic texts. In contemporary Standard Icelandic, the ordinary verb for riding is ríða, and reiða is now used mainly in philological contexts, quotations, or references to older writings. The infinitive form reiða is not productive in modern Icelandic, and speakers normally rely on ríða for present and future constructions while the simple past of ríða is reið.

Scholars study reiða chiefly to understand older conjugation patterns of ride-verbs within the North Germanic language group. The form appears in various historical sources and dictionaries that document Old Norse and early Icelandic, helping to illuminate the development of Icelandic morphosyntax and lexicon. In textual traditions such as sagas and poetry, reiða and related forms appear as part of the verbal system describing movement and travel.

Etymology and cognates: Reiða is related to cognate forms in other North Germanic languages, tracing back to common Proto-Nordic roots for riding. In the modern language, however, ríða is the standard verb, and reiða has receded from productive use. Its study remains relevant for historical linguistics and for reading older Icelandic texts.

See also: ríða, reiði, reið (in its historical sense), Old Norse language.