rat

Where does the word "rat" come from? It comes from Old English ræt, and was adopted directly into English (1500s).

Rat’s story begins in Old English: ræt meant “rat.” Found across the Germanic and Romance languages; no one knows which borrowed it from which. It reached English by 1500s as rat. The brown rat reached England only in the 1700s, displacing the medieval black rat. Today, rat means a long-tailed rodent larger than a mouse.

1. Stage 1 · Old English · 700s-1000s ræt "rat", found across the Germanic and Romance languages; no one knows which borrowed it from which.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1500s rat "rat", the brown rat reached England only in the 1700s, displacing the medieval black rat.