Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “rodent” come from?

Rodent comes from Latin rodens, the present participle of Latin rodere, meaning to gnaw, derived from Proto-Indo-European reh₁d-.

rodent (English): A mammal of the order Rodentia, characterized by...

Definitions

  1. A mammal of the order Rodentia, characterized by...

Ancestry of “rodent”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinrōdēns—
2Latinrōdō—
3Proto-Indo-EuropeanHreh₃d-to scrape

Words derived from “rodent”

  • rodenticide
  • nonrodent
  • rodentlike
  • rodential
  • rodenticidal
  • rodenty
  • rodentology
  • rodentologist
  • r0dent
  • rodentproof
  • robovirus
Every word from Proto-Indo-European Hreh₃d- →