Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

rathe

/ɹeɪð/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.76 in modern English

Syllables: rathe
IPA: /ɹeɪð/

8

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Ripening or blooming early.

adv

Obsolete

adv

Early in the morning.

name

A surname from German.

Example Sentences

"Bring the rathe primrose that forsaken dies."
"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

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”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: rathe, hraþe, *hraþō, *kret-, -

Usage

Obsolete

Inflected Forms

rather (comparative) rathest (superlative) rath (alternative) Rathes (plural)

Derived Forms

ratheness

Frequently Paired Words

rathely ratheness rather

Rhymes With

bathe lathe nathe swathe spathe scathe saithe staithe enswathe flathe snathe stathe

Questions

How do you pronounce rathe?: The recorded pronunciation is /ɹeɪð/.
What does rathe mean?: Ripening or blooming early.
Where does rathe come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce rathe

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “rathe”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɹeɪð/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “rathe”.
Repeat and practice — Say “rathe” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.