Where does “ratcatching” come from?

ratcatching (English) comes from English catching, from English catch, from Middle English cacchen, from Anglo-Norman cachier, from Vulgar Latin coacticare, from Latin coactō, from Latin coactus, from Latin cōgō — whale, sea monster; abyss.

ratcatching (English): The catching of rats, especially to rid a place of vermin

Definitions

  1. The catching of rats, especially to rid a place of vermin

Ancestry of “ratcatching”, step by step

ratcatching traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English catching

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishcatchingcontagious; captivating; alluring; catchy; The...
2EnglishcatchThe act of seizing or capturing; The act of...
3Middle Englishcacchento catch
4Anglo-Normancachierto hide; Alternative form of chacier
5Vulgar Latincoacticarepresent active infinitive of *coacticō
6Latincoactōto compel, constrain, force
7Latincoactusforced, compelled, having been forced; urged,...
8Latincōgōto collect, assemble, gather together
9Latincōn-Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects
10Latincumwith, along with; at; -fold
11Old LatincomAlternative form of cum
12Proto-Italickomwith, along, at
13Proto-Indo-Europeanḱómbeside, near, by, with
14Proto-Indo-EuropeanḱeDeictic particle, here; Post-positional...
15Middle Englishkyt
16Russianкитwhale; genitive plural of ки́та
17Old Church Slavonicкитъwhale
18Ancient Greekκῆτοςwhale, sea monster; abyss

via English rat

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishratA medium-sized rodent belonging to the genus...
2Middle EnglishraatAlternative form of ratte
3Old EnglishrætAlternative form of rætt
4Old Englishrættrat
5Proto-Germanicrattazrat
6Proto-Indo-EuropeanHreh₃d-to scrape
Every word from Ancient Greek κῆτος