Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

roof rabbit

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.93 in modern English

Syllables: roof rab-bit
IPA

17

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Etymology

From roof + rabbit. From the common habit of cats to prowl on rooftops, and the meat being sold or passed off as rabbit. Similar formations exist in several European languages. Perhaps the earliest attestation (and eventual origin?) is Middle Low German bönhase (“cat”, literally “loft hare”), which is attested in the early 14th century (as a name and thus probably even older). More at German Bönhase and Dachhase.

Word Breakdown

Root: bönhase

Inflected Forms

roof rabbits (plural)

Synonyms

gutter rabbit

Questions

What does roof rabbit mean?: cat meat
Where does roof rabbit come from?: From roof + rabbit. From the common habit of cats to prowl on rooftops, and the meat being sold or passed off as rabbit. Similar formations exist in several European languages. Perhaps the earliest attestation (and eventual origin?) is Middle Low German bönhase (“cat”, literally “loft hare”), which is attested in the early 14th century (as a name and thus probably even older). More at German Bönhase and Dachhase.

How to pronounce roof rabbit

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