*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of rathe

From Middle English rathe, from Old English hraþe, from Proto-West Germanic *hraþō, *hradō (“quickly”), from *hraþ, *hrad (“quick”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kret- (“quick; to move quickly”). Cognate with Ger

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
adv

Quickly. · Early in the morning.

adj

Ripening or blooming early.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English rathe, from Old English hraþe, from Proto-West Germanic *hraþō, *hradō (“quickly”), from *hraþ, *hrad (“quick”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kret- (“quick; to move quickly”). Cognate with German Low German radd, ratt (“rashly; quickly; hastily”), and German gerade (“now, just, exactly”); compare Dutch rad (“quick, swift”), Norwegian rad (“quick, direct”), Gothic 𐍂𐌰𐌸𐌹𐌶𐌰 (raþiza, “easier”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "rathe"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English rathe"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "hraþe"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English hraþe"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*hraþō"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *hraþō"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*kret-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "quick; to move quickly"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *kret- (“quick; to move quickly”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "radd"
      },
      "expansion": "German Low German radd"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "gerade",
        "t": "now, just, exactly"
      },
      "expansion": "German gerade (“now, just, exactly”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "rad",
        "3": "",
        "4": "quick, swift"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch rad (“quick, swift”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "no",
        "2": "rad",
        "3": "",
        "4": "quick, direct"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian rad (“quick, direct”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐍂𐌰𐌸𐌹𐌶𐌰",
        "3": "",
        "4": "easier"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐍂𐌰𐌸𐌹𐌶𐌰 (raþiza, “easier”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "rathe",
      "rathe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "hraþe",
      "hraþe#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*hraþō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/hraþō"
    ],
    [
      "*hradō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/hradō"
    ],
    [
      "*hraþ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/hraþ"
    ],
    [
      "*hrad",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hrad"
    ],
    [
      "*kret-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/kret-"
    ],
    [
      "radd",
      "radd#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "ratt",
      "ratt#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "gerade",
      "gerade#German"
    ],
    [
      "rad",
      "rad#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "rad",
      "rad#Norwegian"
    ],
    [
      "𐍂𐌰𐌸𐌹𐌶𐌰",
      "𐍂𐌰𐌸𐌹𐌶𐌰#Gothic"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adv",
      "glosses": [
        "Quickly.",
        "Early in the morning."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete",
        "poetic"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 539956
    },
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Ripening or blooming early."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "poetic"
      ],
      "recordId": "aa9bafa77546e1d6b21430ba71ab890005d4c237743f2bc64a75bac9c74c9b7d",
      "rawRecordSha256": "d5d4bb4eaeb249887f89c45d718f2acdd31f06181f471f38f483b19d394673ab",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 539955
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for rathe →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-cmF0aGU