ratissage
/ɹatɪˈsɑːʒ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A raid (especially violent) carried out by the police or military, originally and chiefly carried out by the French in Algeria. and, prior to that, by the Milice (Vichy Government counter-terror police) in 1943-44.
noun
A monetary device whereby national reserves are temporarily given up to a central bank.
Example Sentences
- "The army […] subjected suspect Muslim villages to systematic ratissage – literally a ‘raking-over’, a time-honoured word for ‘pacifying’ operations."
- "A second group of security men had appeared from within the museum, and lashed out with their clubs like warriors in a battle scene from a Kurasawa epic. […] ‘It's another ratissage. A special action.’"
Etymology
From French ratissage, from ratisser (“to rake”).
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
- Root: ratissage
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /ɹatɪˈsɑːʒ/