Etymology

ravish

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Today it means: To seize and carry away by violence; to snatch by force. Full definition →

Middle English ravyschen ← Old French ravis- ← Vulgar Latin *rapire
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromrapere
  2. Vulgar Latin · derived from*rapire
  3. Old French · derived fromravis-
  4. Middle English · inherited fromravyschen
  5. English todayravish

From Middle English ravyschen, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ravis-, present participle stem of ravir (“to seize; to take away hastily”), from Vulgar Latin *rapire, from Latin rapere. See also rape.

Words from the same roots

Latinrapere all →

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Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.