Where does “rats” come from?

rats (French) comes from French rat, from Middle French rat, from Old French rat, from Old High German rato, from Proto-Germanic ratō, from Proto-Germanic rattaz, from Proto-Indo-European Hreh₃d- — to scrape.

rats (French): plural of rat

Definitions

  1. plural of rat

Ancestry of “rats”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchratrat; sweetheart; scrooch
2Middle Frenchratrat
3Old Frenchratrat rodent
4Old High Germanratorat
5Proto-Germanicratō—
6Proto-Germanicrattazrat
7Proto-Indo-EuropeanHreh₃d-to scrape
Every word from Proto-Indo-European Hreh₃d- →Every word from Proto-Germanic rattaz →Every word from Proto-Germanic ratō →