Where does “Rat” come from?

Rat (Luxembourgish) comes from Middle High German ratte, from Old High German rato, from Proto-Germanic ratō, from Proto-Germanic rattaz, from Proto-Indo-European Hreh₃d- — to scrape.

Rat (Luxembourgish): rat

Definitions

  1. rat

Ancestry of “Rat”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanratte—
2Old High Germanratorat
3Proto-Germanicratō—
4Proto-Germanicrattazrat
5Proto-Indo-EuropeanHreh₃d-to scrape
Every word from Proto-Indo-European Hreh₃d- →Every word from Proto-Germanic rattaz →Every word from Proto-Germanic ratō →