English
rash
Rash comes from Middle English rash.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rash
- Englishearliest quotation 1563rash
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rash
- Englishearliest quotation 1563rash
Earliest quotation: 1563, Examinations and Martyrdom of John Philpot: “[…] Eusebius doth report that Ireneus dyd reprooue Victor…”
The story
The adjective is derived from Middle English rash, rasch (‘hasty, headstrong, rash’) [and other forms], probably from Old English *ræsċ (‘rash’) (found in derivatives such as ræsċan (‘to move rapidly; to flicker; to flash; to glitter; to quiver’), ræsċettan (‘to crackle, sparkle’), etc.), from Proto-West Germanic *rask, *raskī, *rasku, from Proto-Germanic *raskaz, *raskuz, *raþskaz, *raþskuz (‘rash; rapid’), from Proto-Indo-European *Hreth₂- (‘to run, roll’). The Middle English word was probably influenced by the cognates listed below.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *Hreth₂- ‘to run, roll’
rotation, rotary, rotate, rodeo, rota, rotund, rueda, 15 more
Another origin of rash
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErāsus‘scraped, scratched’uncertain
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*rāsicāre‘to scrape’uncertain
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400rascheuncertain
- Englishtodayrash
Probably from Old French rasche, rache (‘skin eruption, rash; (specifically) scabies, scurf’) (obsolete), from racher (‘to scrape; to scratch’) (although this is only directly attested later than the noun), from Vulgar Latin *rāsicāre (‘to scrape’), from Latin rāsus (‘scraped, scratched; shaved’), the perfect passive participle of rādō (‘to scrape, scratch; to shave; to rub, smooth; to brush along, graze’).
Today it means
adj Acting too quickly without considering the consequences and risks; not careful; hasty.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English rash / rash