Where does “rape” come from?

rape (Middle English) comes from Latin rāpa, from Latin rāpum, from Proto-Indo-European rap-.

rape (Middle English): grape stalk, rasper

Definitions

  1. grape stalk, rasper

Ancestry of “rape”, step by step

rape traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Latin rāpa

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinrāpa—
2Latinrāpumturnip
3Proto-Indo-Europeanrap-—

via Old French raper

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchrapertake by force
2Frankishraspōn—

Words derived from “rape”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European rap- →Every word from Latin rāpum →Every word from Latin rāpa →