Adjective: rathe
Comparison Forms
Synthetic
| Comparative | rather |
| Superlative | rathest |
Perifrastic
Sample Sentences
-
Bring the rathe primrose that forsaken dies. [1637 (date written; published 1638), John Milton, “Lycidas”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC:]
-
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. [1849, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, In Memoriam A.H.H., canto 111:]
Adjectives inflected like rathe
scarce,
smoove,
sombre,
wholsome,
sheene,
bolshie,
baroque,
concrete,
seveare,
comf'table,
shrewde,
'umble,
grislie,
unsubtle,
ungentle,
indiscrete,
couthie,
chavvie,
lissome,
cutesie, etc. (List truncated at 20 adjectives)
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”). See: German Adjectives '
gerade', Dutch Adjectives '
rad', Gothic Adjectives '
𐍂𐌰𐌸𐌹𐌶𐌰'.