ras

Forms

ras (feminine rase, masculine plural ras, feminine plural rases)^[1] Old French res and reis (about 1175), remade as ras from 1191.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French res, inherited from Latin rāsus (“scraped, shaved”),^[2][3][1] the past participle of rādō (“to scrape, shave”).^[2][3] The modern form is a remaking of the Old French one after raser.^[4][1] The old form survives in rez, as in rez-de-chaussée, a doublet of this adjective.^[2][3][1]

Cognate with Occitan ras and Italian raso.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

About 1190 Gui de Cambrai's Vengement Alixandre uses it of something filled right up, the sense of a measure full to the brim; the word was rare until the 16th century.^[4][2][3]

Semantic evolution

From a measure full to the brim (1191) came a measure filled exactly level with the rim, as opposed to heaped (1690), and, at sea, a ship loaded so that its side is nearly level with the water (1680).^[2] Of a flat, clear surface it gave table rase (1314, teble rese), a calque of Latin tabula rasa, spread by 17th-century philosophy, and faire table rase de “to make a clean sweep of” (1835).^[2][6] Campagne rase (1559) became rase campagne (1636), “open, flat country”.^[2][4]

The sense “cut close to the skin” is found about 1278; it is now old-fashioned of the skin or head but common of hair (1549), and is used of the pile of cloth (1532, Rabelais) and of an animal's coat (1690).^[2] As an adverb, ras “very close” dates from 1606, and the noun gave phrases such as au ras de (end of the 17th century), à ras bord (1893) and au ras des pâquerettes “pedestrian, uninspired”.^[2][4]

En avoir ras le bol (1968) “to be fed up” uses bol in the slang sense “anus”, as the vulgar variant ras le cul shows, though speakers usually take it to mean “head”;^[2] le ras-le-bol is a state of exasperation.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1175 – The Old French forms res and reis are recorded.^[2]
• c. 1190 – Gui de Cambrai uses ras “full to the brim”.^[4][2]
• c. 1278 – It means “cut close, shaven”.^[2]
• 1314 – Teble rese (table rase) is recorded.^[2][6]
• 1534 – Rabelais speaks of a chapeau raz, a hat with short nap.^[4]
• 1536 – Ras terre “level with the ground” appears.^[4]
• 1559 – Amyot writes campagne rase.^[4][2]
• 1606 – Nicot records couper tout ras.^[4]
• 1636 – Rase campagne is recorded.^[4][2]
• 1893 – À ras bord appears.^[2]
• 1968 – Ras le bol is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Cut very short, close-cropped: des cheveux ras.^[6][7][1]
2. Of an animal's coat or a fabric's pile, naturally very short: un chat à poil ras.^[6][7]
3. Of plants, growing low to the ground: de l'herbe rase.^[6][7]
4. In set phrases, flat and open: en rase campagne, in open country, faire table rase de, to make a clean sweep of.^[6][7]
5. Filled to the brim without overflowing, level: une cuillerée rase de farine.^[6][7]

Adverb

1. Very short, close: une haie taillée ras.^[6][7][5]
2. À ras bord: up to the brim.^[6][7]
3. Au ras de, à ras de: level with, very close to the surface of: au ras de l'eau.^[6][7]
4. (familiar) En avoir ras le bol (vulgar ras le cul): to be fed up.^[7][2]

Word family

• ras-le-bol
• rasade

Related words

• rasibus
• raser
• rez
• Latin rādō

Usage notes

The Grand Robert's ras 1 is a nautical noun for a raft used for repairs near a ship's waterline (1678, earlier rat about 1630), which the TLFi takes from Latin ratis (“raft”) and the DHLF from Old Occitan.^[8][4][2] The Grand Robert's ras 2 is the title of an Ethiopian chief (1683, earlier eras 1614 and arraze 1556), from a word meaning “head, chief”, which the Grand Robert calls colloquial Arabic and the DHLF Amharic.^[8][2]

In Quebec French au ras de, à ras de keeps the old sense “right next to”.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
5. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
8. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert