Where does “rather” come from?
rather (Middle English) comes from Old English hraþor, from Old English hræþe, from Proto-West Germanic *hraþō.
Ancestry of “rather”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | hraþor | sooner, quicker |
| 2 | Old English | hræþe | soon |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | *hraþō | — |
Words derived from “rather”