RT list: Ready, Steady ...

In a message dated 1/26/2009 3:25:27 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
alessandro.capone@istruzione.it writes:

What is to be 'ready'?

A good clue is the latin word 'paratus' (a translation for 'ready'), a
state in which one has made (has finished) preparations.

Does anyone know the etymology of 'ready' in English?

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Apparently, not even the folks at home (OED) know it:
"The further etymology is difficult to establish with any certainty, ...  
etymology uncertain and disputed."
They don't even attempt an IE base of any definite form, although they  
mention possible cognates in Lithuanian and Latvian -- not that that will help  
_me_.
 
"The same Indo-European base is probably shown by Lithuanian raidus quick,  
ready, Latvian."
 
The corollary is that for us, non-native English speakers (but having met  
some _native_ English speakers, I'm not so sure either with them) have no idea  
what we _mean_ when we say 'ready':
 
In some collocations, as "ready, steady, go", the equivalent seems to be  
'prepare' -- but the 'steady' is possibly a Spoonerism or otherwise rhymic pun. 
 
Of course it gets complicated in American (or Vespuccian as I call it) with  
the 'allready'. 
 
Below the fragments from the OED -- I should check with Skeat, or  Onions.
 
 
If you ask _me_ what it is to be ready I'd attempt a Gricean reply:
 
agent x is ready to do action A (it's always ready to do action A, rather  
than ready to think, doubt, love, ...) iff
 
      1. x has some willingness to do A
         ('neo-Prichardian' Grice  would call this in his Proceedings of 
British Academy Lecture, "Intention and  Uncertantity")
 
      2. There is no interference element between  the sensorial input and 
behavioural output.
        (Here I'm punning on Grice's  "inference element" --; the sensorial 
input/behavioural output dichotomy being  his sense of functionalism, in
         "Method in philosophical  psychology", repr. in Conception of Value.
 
      3. x believes that (2)
 
      4. (3) is the causal antecedent for x's  actually doing A.
 
'pre-pare' is otiose in that it's better to be just _pared_; as when people  
tell me that they have been pre-occupied, and it turns out that they have  
actually being *very* occupied (in _things_). To me, 'pre-' is a sacred suffix  
and takes no time on my agenda -- as in 'pre-digest'. 
 
Cheers,
 
J. L.
 
----
 
From the OED:
Either 
 
from Old English (rare) rede ready, prompt (see below; more usually gerede  
I-REDE adj.  OE. erde = MHG. gereite:OTeut. *garaijo-z: cf. I-RAD a. and  
GRAITH a.) + -Y suffix1, 
 
or aphetic from 
 
I-REDY adj. Compare I-RAD adj. OE. erád = MHG. gereit, Goth. garaids  
appointed:OTeut. *garaio-z, f. *ga- (I-1, Y-) + rai- to prepare, make ready. Cf.  
I-REDE. OE. redan (rare) = MDu. and MLG. rêden, reiden (Du. reeden) to make  
ready, set in order, etc. (hence Da. rede, Sw. reda). OE. had also erdan (rare)  = 
MDu. gherêden, ON. greia to GRAITH. The base is that of the adj. READY.]  
, REDE v.2 
With Old English rede compare 
Old Frisian rd, rede, 
 
--- and compare my favourite Frisian ever, "Bread, butter, and green  cheese, 
is very good English, and very good Friese --" cited by Hazlitt -- this  is 
the ingvaeonic family in Campbell, OE. JLS
 
 
Middle Dutch reet, reede, rde, ree (Dutch ree), Middle Low German rede,  
reide, rt, reit ( Old Icelandic reir, Old Swedish redha, reo (Swedish reda,  
redo), Old Danish rethe, redhe (Danish rede)), Middle High German reite, reit  
(German reit; now only regional). 
 
For morphological parallels to ready compare Middle Low German redich,  
reidich available, of service (German regional (Low German) redig), Swedish  redig 
prepared, finished (probably partly < Middle Low German rdich, reidich,  and 
partly independently < Swedish reda), and (perhaps < Swedish) Danish  redig. 
 
With prefixation compare (with Y- prefix) Middle Dutch gereet, gereit  (Dutch 
gereed), Middle Low German gerde, gereide, gert, gereit, Old High German  
gireiti (Middle High German gereite, gereit), Old Icelandic greir GRAITH adj.,  
Gothic garais, and also (with BE- prefix) Middle Dutch bereet, bereit, bereide  
(Dutch bereid), Middle Low German berde, bereide, bert, bereit (hence Swedish 
 beredd, bereda, beredo, Danish beredt), Middle High German bereite, bereit  
(German bereit). There are also numerous verbal formations from the same base  
with the meaning ‘to put in order, to make ready’.
 
The OED further notes: 
 
"The further etymology is difficult to establish with any certainty, as is  
the direction of the derivational relationships among the words in the various  
Germanic languages. The same Indo-European base is probably shown by 
Lithuanian  raidus quick, ready, Latvian raids ready, rist (1st person singular 
present  indicative riedu) to put in order (now arch.); further etymology uncertain 
and  disputed."
 
With ready boune adj. at Special uses 4 compare Old Icelandic  reiubúinn, Old 
Swedish reoboin, redhaboin, etc. (Swedish redobogen), Old Danish  redebon, 
redbon, redheboæn (Danish redebon).
With ready coin, etc., at  sense A. 11 compare Old Icelandic reiupenningar, 
Old Swedish redhum pænningum,  dative plural (Swedish reda pänningar), Danish 
rede penge, and also Middle Low  German rdegelt, reidegelt, rtgelt, reitgelt.] 
 
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