Where does “rats” come from?
rats (Volapük) comes from Volapük rat, 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.
rats (Volapük): nominative plural of rat
Ancestry of “rats”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Volapük | rat | rat |
| 2 | English | rat | A medium-sized rodent belonging to the genus... |
| 3 | Middle English | raat | Alternative form of ratte |
| 4 | Old English | ræt | Alternative form of rætt |
| 5 | Old English | rætt | rat |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | rattaz | rat |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | Hreh₃d- | to scrape |