* Proto-Indo-European "reg-" gave rise to the Proto-Germanic word "rēkan", meaning "to rule, to direct, to govern."
* In Old English, "rēkan" became "rēdan", which had a more specific meaning of "to read, to interpret, to understand." This shift likely occurred because the act of reading was seen as a process of interpreting written signs and making sense of them.
* Over time, the spelling evolved from "rēdan" to "readan" and finally to "reading".
So, while the word "reading" directly refers to the act of deciphering written language, its root reveals an underlying sense of order, understanding, and making sense of information.