Etymology

cp. OIcel greiði 'solving, accounting, help, hospitality (etc.)'; this n. is one of a number of formations in ON on the adj. greiðr ‘ready, free’ < PGmc *ga-raið-a-; cp. OE gerǣde ‘ready’, Go garáiþs, OFris rēd, rēde, MLG (ge)rēde, OHG gireiti (see further grayþe (adj.)). As with grayþe (v.), the n. could have come directly from the ON n., or have been formed on the adj. MED also plausibly notes the possibility of influence on the meaning from OE gerǣde (st. neut.) 'trappings, armour, accoutrements, ornaments' (formed on the v.  gerǣdan (v.) ‘to arrange’ (see AEW s.v. rǣde (2)) < PGmc *ga-raiðjan- (cp. Go garáidjan, OFris (bi)rēda, OHG (bi)reiten), which also derives from the adj. 

PGmc Ancestor

*ga-raið-

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

greiði 'solving, accounting, help, hospitality (etc.)'
(ONP greiði (sb.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

Far greiði, Norw greide

OE Cognate

cp. gerǣde (st. neut.) 'trappings, armour, accoutrements, ornaments'; cp. gerǣde (adj.) 'ready', gerǣdan (v.) ‘to arrange’

Phonological and morphological markers

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

syncope

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

Summary category

A1*c

Attestation

First cited by MED from Lay.Brut (Clg A.9), and thereafter predominantly from N texts in ME; Sc dial in the modern period (see OED and EDD sense (5)).

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

WA 5518

Bibliography