rationale

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌɹæʃ.əˈnɑːl/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

  • Rhymes: -ɑːl
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌɹæʃ.əˈnæl/
  • Rhymes: -æl

Etymology 1

From Late Latin ratiōnāle.

Noun

rationale (plural rationales or rationalia)

1. An explanation of the basis or fundamental reasons for something.
2. A justification or rationalization for something.
   • April 5 2022, Tina Brown, “How Princess Diana’s Dance With the Media Impacted William and Harry”, in Vanity Fair‎^[1]:

     He confirmed that Bashir successfully manipulated Diana’s paranoia by showing her brother, Earl Spencer, forged documents that “proved” her closest advisers had betrayed her to the palace, inflaming her desire to speak out for herself. Bashir lied his way to the biggest TV scoop of the 20th century. Dyson’s censure at least gave her two sons some rationale for why Diana did something so destructive to their happiness.

     adapted from the book The Palace Papers, published 2022 by Penguin Books

Synonyms

• (explanation): reasoning, rationalization
• (justification): reasoning

Translations

explanation of the basis or fundamental reasons

• Albanian: please add this translation if you can
• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Belarusian: абгрунтаванне n (abhruntavannje)
• Bulgarian: логично обяснение n (logično objasnenie)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 推理 (zh) (tuīlǐ), 原理 (zh) (yuánlǐ)

• Dutch: ratio (nl) f
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Estonian: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: perustelu (fi), perusteet (fi) pl, perussyyt pl
• French: raison (fr) f
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Argumentation (de) f, Begründung (de) f
• Greek: σκεπτικό (el) n (skeptikó)
• Hungarian: please add this translation if you can
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Polish: przesłanki f pl
• Romanian: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: основа́ние (ru) n (osnovánije), обоснова́ние (ru) f (obosnovánije), оправда́ние (ru) n (opravdánije)
• Serbo-Croatian: razlog (sh), opravdanje (sh)
• Slovak: zdôvodnenie
• Spanish: fundamentación f, fundamento (es) m
• Turkish: mantıklı izah, ussal açıklama
• Ukrainian: please add this translation if you can

justification or rationalization

• Bulgarian: обосновка (bg) f (obosnovka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 理由 (zh) (lǐyóu)

• Dutch: onderbouwing (nl) f
• Finnish: perustelu (fi), perusteet (fi) pl
• French: justification (fr) f, raison (fr) f
• Polish: uzasadnienie (pl) n
• Russian: основа́ние (ru) n (osnovánije)
• Slovak: zdôvodnenie
• Spanish: justificación (es) f

Etymology 2

A rationale (vestment) of a style used by the Catholic church

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.) From Latin ratiōnāle.

Noun

rationale (plural rationales)

2. (rare, religion) A liturgical vestment worn by some Christian bishops of various denominations.
   • 2015, Gregory Dipippo, Rationale Worn by the Bishop of Eichstätt‎^[2]:

     the local bishop, H.E. Gregor Maria Hanke, is shown wearing that rarest of liturgical garments, the rationale.

Translations

liturgical vestment

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 主教法衣 (zhǔjiào fǎyī)

• Finnish: rationaali
• French: rational (fr) m, surhuméral m
• German: Rationale (de) n, Superhumerale n
• Italian: razionale (it) m
• Polish: racjonał m
• Russian: рационал (ru) m (racional)

Anagrams

• alienator, taeniolar

Latin

Adjective

ratiōnāle

1. nominative/vocative/accusative singular neuter of ratiōnālis (“rational, of reason”)

Noun

ratiōnāle n (genitive ratiōnālis); third declension

1. The breastplate worn by Israelite high priests (Translation of λογεῖον (logeîon) or λόγιον (lógion, “oracle”) in the Septuagint version of Exodus 28.)
   • Vulgate Bible, Exodus 28:15

     Rationale quoque iudicii facies opere polymito iuxta texturam superumeralis ex auro hyacintho et purpura coccoque bis tincto et bysso retorta (And you shall make the breastplate of judgment with skillful work; like the work of the ephod you shall make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shall you make it.)

2. a rationale worn by a bishop

Declension

Third-declension noun (neuter, “pure” i-stem).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	ratiōnāle	ratiōnālia
Genitive	ratiōnālis	ratiōnālium
Dative	ratiōnālī	ratiōnālibus
Accusative	ratiōnāle	ratiōnālia
Ablative	ratiōnālī	ratiōnālibus
Vocative	ratiōnāle	ratiōnālia

References

• rationale in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• rationale in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)