rat English · revision 7060

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1000|origins=ang ræt}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɹæt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English rat, ratte, [[inh|ang|ræt]] (attested once), reinforced in Middle English by Old French [[m|fro|rat]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) Similar words are found in Celtic (Gaelic radan), Romance (Medieval Latin ratus, Italian ratto, Spanish rata) and Germanic (Old Saxon ratta, Dutch rat, German [[m|de|Ratte]]), but their connection and ultimate source are unknown.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) NODE takes the English word as probably of Romance origin,^(NODE 1998) while the OED thinks it probable that the word spread from Germanic to Romance.^(Etymonline) The American Heritage Dictionary connects it with Latin [[m|la|rodo|alt=rōdere|t=to gnaw]] (see [[rodent]]), a link Klein rejects.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The rodent: about 1000 in the OED and Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) In Middle English the commoner form was ratton, from Old French raton.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Barnhart notes that the animal was probably not known in Europe much before 900–1000.^(Barnhart 1988) ''To smell a rat'' is from before 1550, and ''like a drowned rat'' from about 1500.^(OED 1989) The verb, to desert one's party, is from 1812, from the belief that rats leave a sinking ship;^(Etymonline) to work for less than the current wage or refuse to strike is from 1847, and to inform on someone from 1910.^(Etymonline) The rat race, a fierce competitive struggle, is from the mid-20th century.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – the rodent.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1550 – smell a rat.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1812 – to desert one's party (verb).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1847 – to break a strike.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1910 – to inform on someone.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[rodent]] resembling a large mouse, typically with a long tail, of the genus ''Rattus''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' A despicable person, especially one who deserts or betrays others.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' An informer.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(informal, rat on)'' To inform on or betray.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To hunt rats.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Interjection===

+ # ''(rats)'' Used to express mild annoyance.^(COED 2004)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ratlike]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ratten]]

+ * [[rat race]]

+ * [[mouse]]

+ * [[rodent]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}