Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “rasp” come from?

Rasp comes from Middle English raspen, from Middle Dutch raspen, from Old French rasper, from Frankish raspon, from Frankish hraspōn, from Proto-Germanic hraspōną and hrespaną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European (s)krebʰ-.

rasp (English): A coarse file, on which the cutting prominences...

Definitions

  1. A coarse file, on which the cutting prominences...

Ancestry of “rasp”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishraspen—
2Old Frenchrasperto grate, scratch
3Latinraspāre—
4Frankishhraspōnto rasp, to grate, to scratch
5Proto-Germanichraspōnąto rasp, grate, scrape; to steal
6Proto-Germanichrespanąto tear; rip; to plunder
7Proto-Indo-European(s)krebʰ-to turn; bend; shrink
8Proto-Indo-European(s)ker-to cut off; to turn, bend
9Proto-Indo-Europeansek-to cut, cut off, sever

Words derived from “rasp”

  • raspy
  • rasper
  • raspily
  • raspiness
  • raspish
  • rasplike
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sek- →