Variant spellings like rechener and rechiner indicate that there may have been some formal interchange with the verb rechiner¹ (‘to snarl’). Etymologically, rechaner derives from *kinni and refers to a sound, whereas rechiner¹ comes from *kinan and refers to an action (of 'baring one’s teeth'), which, may have been accompanied with making a sound. Some Anglo-Norman sources seem to have failed to distinguish the two senses, and may have considered rechan- and rechin- nothing but variant spellings of the same word.