entry
rat
/ræt/A rodent; a betrayer or informant
From O.English, from Proto-Germanic; ultimate origin uncertain rat (A rat or rat-like animal).
from Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₃d- (“to gnaw, scrape, scratch”). However, the rat may have been unknown in Northern...
from Proto-Germanic *rattaz, *rattō (“rat”), of uncertain origin, possibly
from Old English ræt, rætt
from Middle English raat, rat, ratt, ratte, rotte
Word Ancestry
from Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₃d- (“to gnaw, scrape, scratch”). However, the rat may have been unknown in Northern...
from Proto-Germanic *rattaz, *rattō (“rat”), of uncertain origin, possibly
from Old English ræt, rætt
from Middle English raat, rat, ratt, ratte, rotte
A rat can enter English through a fog of uncertainty: Old English had ræt, but nobody can say with confidence where the word began. One leading theory links it to the reconstructed Proto-Germanic *rattaz and, farther back, a proposed Indo-European root meaning “to gnaw, scrape, scratch”—a wonderfully dental etymology for an animal that can chew through wood, wiring, and apparently your peace of mind. Another theory imagines a Vulgar Latin *rattus spreading into Romance languages, while some scholars reject any connection with the gnawing root altogether. By the 1620s, “rat” had acquired its human sense because people believed rats abandoned a sinking ship or collapsing house before everyone else; in 1902, it specifically meant a traitor or informer. So every time someone “rats” on a colleague, the insult carries an old image: tiny paws already racing away from disaster.
The Story
A rat can enter English through a fog of uncertainty: Old English had ræt, but nobody can say with confidence where the word began. One leading theory links it to the reconstructed Proto-Germanic *rattaz and, farther back, a proposed Indo-European root meaning “to gnaw, scrape, scratch”—a wonderfully dental etymology for an animal that can chew through wood, wiring, and apparently your peace of mind. Another theory imagines a Vulgar Latin *rattus spreading into Romance languages, while some scholars reject any connection with the gnawing root altogether. By the 1620s, “rat” had acquired its human sense because people believed rats abandoned a sinking ship or collapsing house before everyone else; in 1902, it specifically meant a traitor or informer. So every time someone “rats” on a colleague, the insult carries an old image: tiny paws already racing away from disaster.
Modern Usage
A person who snitches to authorities for personal benefit; also a community-specific term for a Twilight Sewerposting member
Notable References
- “smell a rat”
- “rat on someone”
- “rat out”
Kin & Kindred
From 'rat'·A rat or rat-like animal
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia
Wiktionary