rathe

Meaning

Adj

Ripening or blooming early.

Adv

1. (obsolete) Quickly.
2. Early in the morning.

Synonyms

early

earnest

fast

posthaste

post-haste

prompt

promptly

pronto

quick

smartly

speedy

straight away

vehement

lickety-split

in short order

one-two-three

jildi

quicksmart

jildy

belive

most Rikki-Tik

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɹeɪð/

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 𐍂𐌰𐌸𐍃 (raþs, “easy”).