Word Origin & History
race (1)
"act of running," c.1300, from O.N. ras "running, rush (of water)," cognate with O.E. ræs, which became M.E. resen "attack, incursion," but did not survive into Mod.Eng. Both O.N. and O.E. are from P.Gmc. *ræs- (cf. M.Du. rasen "to rave, rage," Ger. rasen). Originally a northern word, it became general in Eng. c.1550. Meaning "contest of speed" first recorded 1513 (the verb in this sense is from 1672). Race-horse is from 1626. Meaning "strong current of water" is from 1375, possibly influenced by O.Fr. raz, which had a similar meaning, and is probably from Breton raz "a strait, narrow channel;" this Fr. source also may have given race its meaning of "channel of a stream" (especially an artificial one to a mill), recorded from 1565. The verb, in ref. to an engine, is from 1862.
[reys] 