Where does “rat” come from?

Rat comes from Middle English rat, from Old English ræt, from Latin rupta, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European reh₁d-.

rat (English): A medium-sized rodent belonging to the genus...

Definitions

  1. A medium-sized rodent belonging to the genus...

Ancestry of “rat”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishraatAlternative form of ratte
2Old EnglishrætAlternative form of rætt
3Old Englishrættrat
4Proto-Germanicrattazrat
5Proto-Indo-EuropeanHreh₃d-to scrape

Words derived from “rat

Every word from Proto-Indo-European Hreh₃d-