Etymology

rale

R1A1L1E1

Today it means: An abnormal clicking, rattling or crackling sound, made by one or both lungs and heard with a stethoscope, caused by the popping open of airways collapsed by fluid or exudate, or sometimes by pulmonary edema. Full definition →

French râle
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. French · derived fromrâle“groan”
  2. English todayrale

From French râle (“groan”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.