rathe

See also: raþe

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹeɪð/
• Rhymes: -eɪð

Etymology 1

From Middle English rathe, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old English hræþ, hræd (“quick, nimble, ready, active, alert, prompt”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *hraþaz, *hradaz (“quick, rapid”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *kret- (“quick; to move quickly”). Cognate with Dutch rad (“quick, swift”), German gerade (“straight, direct”), Norwegian rad (“quick, direct”), Gothic 𐍂𐌰𐌸𐍃 (raþs, “easy”).

Adjective

rathe (comparative more rathe, superlative most rathe)

1. (poetic) Ripening or blooming early.
   • (Can we date this quote by Milton and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Bring the rathe primrose that forsaken dies.

   • 1849, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, In Memoriam A.H.H., canto 111:

     Thy converse drew us with delight,
     The men of rathe and riper years:
     The feeble soul, a haunt of fears,
     Forgot his weakness in thy sight.

Etymology 2

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old English hraþe (“quickly”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *hraþô (“quickly, rapidly”), from *hraþaz (“quick, rapid”). See above.

Adverb

rathe (comparative more rathe, superlative most rathe)

1. (obsolete) Quickly.
2. (poetic) Early in the morning.

Alternative forms

• rath

Derived terms

• rather

Anagrams

• Earth, Erath, Harte, Heart, Herat, Taher, Terah, Thera, earth, hater, heart, rehat, th'are, thare

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Middle English

Alternative forms

• rathere, rathest

Etymology

From Old English hræþ, from Proto-Germanic *hraþaz. Compare to rade, from Old English hræd.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /raːð(ə)/

Adjective

rathe (comparative rather, superlative rathest)

1. eager, decisive
2. rash, hasty, angry
3. important, meaningful

Descendants

• English: rathe

References

• “rāth(e (adj.)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-30.

Adverb

rathe

1. quickly, speedily
2. immediately, at once
3. now, presently

Related terms

• rather, rathere

Descendants

• English: rathe

References

• “rāth(e (adv.)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-30.