rate

Pronunciation

• IPA: /reɪt/^[1]

rate¹ proportion, speed

Etymology

The proportion is inherited from Middle English rate, borrowed from Middle French rate (“price, value”) and directly Medieval Latin rata,^[2][3] short for Latin prō ratā parte (“according to a fixed part”),^[4][5][6] from rata, feminine of ratus (“fixed, settled, reckoned”), past participle of reor (“to reckon, think”),^[2][3][7] from Proto-Indo-European *re- (“to reason, count”).^[2] Latin reor is also the source of ratio and reason.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Estimated worth, or an amount in proportion to something else: 1425, in the Rolls of Parliament,^[3][8] or the early 15th century.^[2]

Semantic evolution

A computed total quantity is from 1472–3,^[8] and a price from 1590.^[8] The verb “to estimate the worth of” is from the mid-15th century,^[2][9] and “to rank, consider” from 1565.^[8] First-rate, second-rate and so on are from the 1640s, from the British Navy's six classes of ships.^[2] At any rate meant “at any cost” in the 1610s and “at least” by 1760.^[2] The degree of speed is from the 1650s.^[2] A local tax on property is by 1712, and ratepayer by 1825.^[2] The rate of exchange between currencies is by 1727.^[2] The intransitive “to have a certain standing” is from 1809, and “to be highly valued” by 1928.^[2] Rate, “to think highly of”, is a colloquial use from 1973.^[8]

Timeline

• 1425 – estimated worth.^[3][8]
• mid-15th century – verb, to estimate.^[2]
• 1590 – a price.^[8]
• 1640s – first-rate.^[2]
• 1650s – speed.^[2]
• 1712 – a local property tax.^[2]
• 1727 – the rate of exchange.^[2]
• 1809 – verb, to rank.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A quantity measured in relation to another: a rate of speed.
2. A proportion: the birth rate.
3. The cost per unit of a commodity or service; a charge calculated on a sum.
4. Level of quality; class.
5. (British) A local tax on property.

Verb

1. To calculate the value of; to appraise.
2. To place in a rank or grade; to regard as.
3. To merit, deserve.
4. To have status or standing.

Word family

• rating
• rateable
• first-rate
• ratepayer
• birth rate
• exchange rate

rate² scold

Etymology

The scolding is inherited from Middle English raten, of uncertain origin.^[5][10] Etymonline and Klein derive it from reter (“to impute, blame, accuse”),^[2][7] from Latin reputāre (“to count over, reflect”), in Vulgar Latin “to impute, blame”,^[2][7] the source of repute.^[7] The American Heritage Dictionary and Merriam-Webster suggest a Scandinavian origin, comparing Swedish rata (“to find fault with, reject”).^[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To chide, rebuke vehemently: about 1386,^[8] or the late 14th century.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Scolding a dog is rating from 1579, and the noun, a reproof to a hound, from 1575.^[8] The intransitive “to utter angry reproofs”, usually with at, is from 1593.^[8] The verb is now usually replaced by berate.^[11]

Timeline

• c. 1386 – to scold.^[8]
• 1575 – noun, a reproof to a dog.^[8]
• 1579 – to scold a dog.^[8]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To scold angrily; to berate.

Related words

• ratio
• ration
• ratify
• reason
• pro rata
• berate
• repute

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin