*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of rasp

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreb /*(s)krebʰ- Proto-Germanic *hrepsaną /*hrepspaną Proto-Germanic *hrespaną Proto-Germanic *hraspōną Frankish *hraspōnbor. Vulgar Latin *raspāre Old

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A coarse file or filelike tool, on which the cutting prominences are distinct points raised by the oblique stroke of a sharp punch, instead of lines raised by a chisel, as on the true file. · The sound made by this tool when used, or any similar sound. · A group of guinea fowl

verb

To use a rasp. · To make a noise similar to the one a rasp makes in use; to utter rasps. · To say in a raspy voice. · To work something with a rasp.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreb /*(s)krebʰ- Proto-Germanic *hrepsaną /*hrepspaną Proto-Germanic *hrespaną Proto-Germanic *hraspōną Frankish *hraspōnbor. Vulgar Latin *raspāre Old French rasperbor. Middle English raspen English rasp Inherited from Middle English raspen (“to scratch, scrape”), borrowed from Old French rasper (“to grate, scratch”), from Vulgar Latin *raspāre (“to scrape; to scratch”), borrowed from Frankish *hraspōn (“to rasp or grate”), from Proto-Germanic *hraspōną (same meaning, plus “to steal”), from *hrespaną (“to tear, rip; to plunder”). Compare Old High German raspōn (“to gather, rake”), Old English ġehrespan (“to plunder”). The noun is from Middle French raspe (whence Modern French râpe), deverbal of rasper, from Old French rasper (see above).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:raspen<t:to scratch, scrape>",
        "text": "6",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *(s)ker-\nProto-Indo-European *(s)kreb /*(s)krebʰ-\nProto-Germanic *hrepsaną /*hrepspaną\nProto-Germanic *hrespaną\nProto-Germanic *hraspōną\nFrankish *hraspōnbor.\nVulgar Latin *raspāre\nOld French rasperbor.\nMiddle English raspen\nEnglish rasp\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"to grate, scratch\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"to scrape; to scratch\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"to rasp or grate\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"to tear, rip; to plunder\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"turn\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*(s)ker-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*(s)kreb\\/\\/*(s)krebʰ-\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*hrepsaną\\/\\/*hrepspaną\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*hrespaną\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*hraspōną\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\", \"pos\" : \"same meaning, plus “to steal”\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Frankish\", \"term\" : \"*hraspōn\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"frk\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Vulgar Latin\", \"term\" : \"*raspāre\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la-vul\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old French\", \"term\" : \"rasper\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"fro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"raspen\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"rasp\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"rasp\">\nInherited from Middle English raspen (“to scratch, scrape”), borrowed from Old French rasper (“to grate, scratch”), from Vulgar Latin *raspāre (“to scrape; to scratch”), borrowed from Frankish *hraspōn (“to rasp or grate”), from Proto-Germanic *hraspōną (same meaning, plus “to steal”), from *hrespaną (“to tear, rip; to plunder”)."
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "goh",
        "2": "raspōn",
        "t": "to gather, rake"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German raspōn (“to gather, rake”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "ġehrespan",
        "t": "to plunder"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ġehrespan (“to plunder”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frm",
        "3": "raspe"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle French raspe"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "râpe"
      },
      "expansion": "French râpe"
    },
    {
      "name": "lg",
      "args": {
        "1": "deverbal"
      },
      "expansion": "deverbal"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "rasper"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French rasper"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:raspen<t:to scratch, scrape>",
        "text": "6",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *(s)ker-\nProto-Indo-European *(s)kreb /*(s)krebʰ-\nProto-Germanic *hrepsaną /*hrepspaną\nProto-Germanic *hrespaną\nProto-Germanic *hraspōną\nFrankish *hraspōnbor.\nVulgar Latin *raspāre\nOld French rasperbor.\nMiddle English raspen\nEnglish rasp\nInherited from Middle English raspen (“to scratch, scrape”), borrowed from Old French rasper (“to grate, scratch”), from Vulgar Latin *raspāre (“to scrape; to scratch”), borrowed from Frankish *hraspōn (“to rasp or grate”), from Proto-Germanic *hraspōną (same meaning, plus “to steal”), from *hrespaną (“to tear, rip; to plunder”)."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*(s)ker-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/(s)ker-#Proto-Indo-European:_turn"
    ],
    [
      "*(s)kreb",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/(s)kreb"
    ],
    [
      "*(s)krebʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/(s)krebʰ-"
    ],
    [
      "*hrepsaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hrepsaną"
    ],
    [
      "*hrepspaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hrepspaną"
    ],
    [
      "*hrespaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hrespaną"
    ],
    [
      "*hraspōną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hraspōną"
    ],
    [
      "*hraspōn",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/hraspōn"
    ],
    [
      "*raspāre",
      "Reconstruction:Latin/raspare"
    ],
    [
      "rasper",
      "rasper#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "raspen",
      "raspen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "raspen",
      "raspen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "rasper",
      "rasper#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "*raspāre",
      "Reconstruction:Latin/raspare"
    ],
    [
      "*hraspōn",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/hraspōn"
    ],
    [
      "*hraspōną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hraspōną"
    ],
    [
      "*hrespaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hrespaną"
    ],
    [
      "raspōn",
      "raspon#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "ġehrespan",
      "gehrespan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "raspe",
      "raspe#Middle_French"
    ],
    [
      "râpe",
      "râpe#French"
    ],
    [
      "rasper",
      "rasper#Middle_French"
    ],
    [
      "rasper",
      "rasper#Old_French"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A coarse file or filelike tool, on which the cutting prominences are distinct points raised by the oblique stroke of a sharp punch, instead of lines raised by a chisel, as on the true file.",
        "The sound made by this tool when used, or any similar sound.",
        "A group of guinea fowl"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "collective"
      ],
      "recordId": "6abe832b2f350d7061820bc10b1c8de3d46670a09d9544fe86ebb02eba5ad503",
      "rawRecordSha256": "3346ac28a373a4580bc06a0ef31517eeecea211dc9cc723a3faa66aae92af5df",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 292157
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To use a rasp.",
        "To make a noise similar to the one a rasp makes in use; to utter rasps.",
        "To say in a raspy voice.",
        "To work something with a rasp."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive",
        "transitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "7f3108d0d2983aee0511b596c05e9b390e4dce28e2f89b779a2dae50a19b86ca",
      "rawRecordSha256": "85e3a36b091586e538182ff3b58b7ece220cc0b0619c9349265ec86098769a7d",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 292158
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 1,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

The raspberry.

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

Probably from earlier raspis (“raspberry”), mistaken as a plural. Further origin unknown.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "unk",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "title": "unknown"
      },
      "expansion": "unknown"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "raspis",
      "raspis#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The raspberry."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic"
      ],
      "recordId": "6aa6baa0651f9006ea43cc64f2a871ba671c8750330ffb49baff485f8cbe3f29",
      "rawRecordSha256": "e9ca9c9b489374f415d90a13319783f667c76149a9ea9045a44e11c1d1417bbe",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 292159
    }
  ],
  "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 rasp →

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-cmFzcA