English
rat
Rat comes from Middle English raat, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *rattaz.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rattazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*rattreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ræt
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500raat
- Englishearliest quotation 1881–1882rat
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rattazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*rattreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ræt
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500raat
- Englishearliest quotation 1881–1882rat
Earliest quotation: 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island: “He’s more a man than any pair of rats…”
The story
However, the rat may have been unknown in Northern Europe in antiquity, and the Proto-Germanic word may have referred to a different animal; see *rattaz for more.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₃d- ‘to gnaw, scrape, scratch’
root, erosion, corrosion, rodent, rout, erode, rostrum, corrode, rostral, 6 more
Another origin of rat
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ratten‘to tear apart’
- Englishtodayrat
Could be related to write.
Today it means
noun Any of the numerous members of several rodent families that usually have short limbs, a pointy snout, a long, hairless tail, and a body length greater than about 12 cm, or 5 inches.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *rattaz / rat