Where does “raticide” come from?

raticide (English) comes from English rat, from Middle English raat, from Old English ræt, from Old English rætt, from Proto-Germanic rattaz, from Proto-Indo-European Hreh₃d- — to scrape.

raticide (English): rat poison

Definitions

  1. rat poison

Ancestry of “raticide”, step by step

raticide traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

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

via English cide

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishcide
Every word from Proto-Indo-European Hreh₃d-