rathe

[ reyth ]

adjective
  1. Archaic. growing, blooming, or ripening early in the year or season.

Origin of rathe

1
before 900; Middle English; Old English hræth, hræd quick, active; cognate with Dutch rad,Old Norse hrathr
  • Also rath [rath]. /ræθ/.

Other words from rathe

  • rathely, adverb
  • ratheness, noun

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How to use rathe in a sentence

  • For other passages in which rathest occurs, see the State Papers, vol.

    English Past and Present | Richard Chevenix Trench
  • Nor has rathest been so long out of use, that it would be playing the antic to attempt to revive it.

    English Past and Present | Richard Chevenix Trench
  • The comparative rather stands alone, having dropped on one side its positive rathe, and on the other its superlative rathest.

    English Past and Present | Richard Chevenix Trench

British Dictionary definitions for rathe

rathe

rath (rɑːθ)

/ (reɪð) /


adjectivearchaic, or literary
  1. blossoming or ripening early in the season

  2. eager or prompt

Origin of rathe

1
Old English hrathe; related to Old High German hrado, Old Norse hrathr

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012