Etymology

cp. OIcel greiðr ‘ready, free’ < PGmc *ga-raið-a; cp. OE gerǣde ‘ready’, Go garáiþs, OFris rēd, rēde, MLG (ge)rēde, OHG gireiti. Regarded as distinctly OWN by Bj. and Gordon (§233)

PGmc Ancestor

*ga-raið-a

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

greiðr ‘ready, free’ 
(ONP greiðr (adj.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

Far greiður, Icel greiður, Norw greid, Sw dial grei, gre

OE Cognate

gerǣde 'ready'

Phonological and morphological markers

ON /ei/ &lt; PGmc */ai/

syncope

ON fricative /&eth;/ &lt; PGmc */&eth;/

Summary category

A1*c

Attestation

Found especially in N in ME, but also widespread in alliterative verse and the SWM

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

Gaw 448, 597, 2047; Erk 251; WA 162, 1865

Bibliography

MED greith (adj.) , OED graith (adj. and adv.) , HTOED , Dance grayþe (a)(adj.), Bj. 44, 163, 283 (DP 9), de Vries greiðr, Mag. greiða (greiður), Bj-L. grei, Heid. (-)raida-, Orel *raiðaz ~ *raiðjaz, Kroonen *raid(j)a-, AEW rǣde (5)