rathe
Americanadjective
adjective
-
blossoming or ripening early in the season
-
eager or prompt
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rathe
before 900; Middle English; Old English hræth, hræd quick, active; cognate with Dutch rad, Old Norse hrathr
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He recalls their former Cambridge discussions; and how Hallam’s powers of conversation drew out “The men of rathe and riper years;” both the young and older.
From A Key to Lord Tennyson's 'In Memoriam' by Mrs. Alfred Gatty
Swithe forth and rathe, quickly forth, and soon, 2594.
From The Lay of Havelok the Dane by Unknown
Dat. c. rathe, in the phrase to rathe, 2542; for the meaning of which, see Red.
From The Lay of Havelok the Dane by Unknown
Of some rathe quickening, some divine Renascence not a sign!
From The Melody of Earth An Anthology of Garden and Nature Poems From Present-Day Poets by Various
Crossley is, I believe, mistaken in his derivation of the word rathe from the Celtic raithe, signifying inclination, although rather seems indisputably to belong to it.
From Notes and Queries, Number 186, May 21, 1853 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc. by George Bell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
