- reckless (adj.)
- Old English receleas "careless, thoughtless, heedless," earlier reccileas, from -leas "-less" + *rece, recce "care, heed," from reccan "to care," from West Germanic *rokjan (cf. Old Saxon rokjan, Middle Dutch roeken, Old Norse rækja "to care for," Old High German giruochan "to care for, have regard to," German geruhen "to deign," which is influenced by ruhen "to rest"). No known cognates outside Germanic.
The same affixed form is in German ruchlos, Dutch roekeloos "wicked." Root verb reck (Old English reccan) is passing into obscurity. The -k- sound is probably a northern influence from Norse.