Where does “alata” come from?
alata (Saramaccan) comes from English rat, from Middle English raat, from Old English ræt, from Old English rætt, from Proto-Germanic rattaz, from Proto-Indo-European Hreh₃d- — to scrape.
alata (Saramaccan): rat
Definitions
- rat
Ancestry of “alata”, step by step
alata traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English rat
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | rat | A medium-sized rodent belonging to the genus... |
| 2 | Middle English | raat | Alternative form of ratte |
| 3 | Old English | ræt | Alternative form of rætt |
| 4 | Old English | rætt | rat |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | rattaz | rat |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | Hreh₃d- | to scrape |
via Portuguese rato
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portuguese | rato | rat; mouse; burglar; petty thief |
| 2 | Latin | raptus | snatched, having been snatched, grabbed, having... |
| 3 | Latin | -tus | Forms the past participle of verbs; Forms... |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | -tus | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -tus | Derives action nouns from verb roots |
via Spanish rata
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spanish | rata | stingy, miser, tight-fisted; rat, jerk; rat,... |
| 2 | Latin | rēōr | to reckon, calculate |
| 3 | Proto-Italic | rēōr | to reckon, to calculate; to think, to deem, to... |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂reh₁- | to think, reason; to arrange |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂er- | to fit, to fix, to put together |