Etymologically
Log in

ràbia

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Catalan word ràbia

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1344 the Ordinacions of Peter the Ceremonious More words from the 14th century
Inherited from
Latin rabia
Ultimate origin
Latin rabiēs

Pronunciation

  • Central, Northern: [ˈra.βi.ə][1]
  • Balearic: [ˈra.bi.ə][1]
  • Valencia: [ˈra.bi.a][1]
  • Northwestern: [ˈra.βi.a][1]

Forms

ràbia f (plural ràbies)[1] The DCVB records the pronunciations ráβiə, ráβiɛ, ráβia and ráβi.[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin rabia, the Vulgar Latin form of Latin rabiēs (“rage, madness”).[3][4][5][1] Wiktionary derives the Latin noun from rabiō (“to rave”).[1]

The same Latin word is Italian rabbia, French rage, Occitan ràbia, Spanish rabia and Portuguese raiva.[6][1] Corominas notes that the Old Spanish spelling ⟨ravia⟩ shows a popular development, and that the word is common to all the western Romance languages.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Ordinacions of Peter the Ceremonious, dated 1344, in an oath by which the king's chamberlains are to help him avoid ràbia and harmful things.[3][2][4] Coromines thinks the special sense the word has in Jaume Roig may come from the one that can be guessed there.[3]

Semantic evolution

In the medieval texts the word means a fit of fury or a violent passion: Eiximenis (1381) writes of a young man persisting in his ràbia, and in the Tirant lo Blanc (1460) Plaerdemavida thinks she will die of ràbia.[8] Ausiàs March says that the love of brutes turns into ràbia.[3] Vicent Ferrer uses it for madness, folly.[8] Fer gran ràbia was said of a violent storm of winds.[8] In Roig's Spill (1460) ràbies are the spongy masses of beaten blood of slaughtered pigs, a slaughterhouse sense the DCVB also records.[8][3][2]

The disease sense, rabies or hydrophobia, is given by Pal·las (1927) and Fabra (1932).[9][10] Coromines notes that a rabid dog is gos rabiós in Barcelona and the Alt Pallars but gos foll in the north-east.[3] Derivatives are enrabiar (end of the 13th century), rabiós (c. 1400) and rabiar (mid-15th century, Curial).[3][5]

Timeline

  • 1344 – first record, in the Ordinacions of Peter the Ceremonious.[3][4]
  • 1381 – Eiximenis uses ràbia for a violent passion.[8]
  • c. 1400 – rabiós first recorded.[3][5]
  • 1460 – Roig's Spill uses ràbies for clots of pig's blood.[8]
  • 1932 – Fabra gives the senses of anger and of hydrophobia.[10]

Meanings

Noun

  1. rage, fury, violent anger: Plorava de ràbia.[11][4]
  2. Annoyance, vexation: Quina ràbia, ha tornat a ploure![11][4]
  3. dislike, antipathy towards someone.[11]
  4. (pathology) rabies, an acute viral disease usually caught from the bite of an infected animal; hidrofòbia.[11][4]

Word family

  • enrabiar
  • enrabiada
  • ràbic
  • antiràbic
  • rabiola
  • rabior
  • rabiós
  • rabiosament
  • rabiüt
  • rabiar
  • rabietat

Usage notes

A medieval collection of Arabic proverbs has Qui mal vol a ca, ràbia li alleva, "whoever wishes a dog ill accuses it of rabies".[8] Enrajat, taken from French enragé, is an expressive doublet of enrabiat.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. ràbia
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Coromines, Joan (1980–2001), Diccionari etimològic i complementari de la llengua catalana, 10 vols., Barcelona: Curial / La Caixa (online ed., Institut d'Estudis Catalans 2024), p. 7, 23
  4. ^ a b c d e f Enciclopèdia Catalana, Gran diccionari de la llengua catalana (GDLC), Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana; online edition, https://www.diccionari.cat, p. s.v. ràbia
  5. ^ a b c Bruguera, Jordi (1996), Diccionari etimològic, Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana, p. 773
  6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 6980
  7. ^ Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 4, 743
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Faraudo de Saint-Germain, Lluís, Vocabulari de la llengua catalana medieval, online edition, Barcelona: Institut d'Estudis Catalans, p. s.v. ràbia
  9. ^ Vallès, Emili (1927), Pal·las: diccionari català il·lustrat, Barcelona: Salvat, p. s.v. ràbia
  10. ^ a b Fabra, Pompeu (1932), Diccionari general de la llengua catalana, Barcelona: Llibreria Catalònia, p. s.v. ràbia
  11. ^ a b c d Institut d'Estudis Catalans (2007), Diccionari de la llengua catalana, 2nd ed. (DIEC2), Barcelona: Edicions 62; online edition with later updates, https://dlc.iec.cat, p. s.v. ràbia

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Ràbia.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ca/r%C3%A0bia. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·