ratoun

Middle English

Alternative forms

• raton, ratun

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman ratoun; equivalent to ratte +‎ -oun.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /raˈtuːn/, /ˈratun/

Noun

ratoun (plural ratouns)

1. rat

   Synonym: ratte

   • c. 1390, William Langland, Piers Plowman, Prologue:

     Wiþ þat ran þere a route · of ratones at ones / And smale mys with hem · mo þen a þousande

     With that a rout of rats ran at once, / and small mice with them; more than a thousand.

Derived terms

• ratoner

Descendants

• English: ratton (dialectal)
• Scots: ratton

References

• “ratǒun, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-12-14.

Old French

Noun

ratoun oblique singular, m (oblique plural ratouns, nominative singular ratouns, nominative plural ratoun)

1. rat or baby rat

Usage notes

• The Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub lists the meaning as 'rat' (with one citation) while the Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle lists the meaning as 'baby rat' (also with one citation). See references below.

Descendants

• → Middle English: ratoun, raton, ratun
  • English: ratton (dialectal)
  • Scots: ratton
• French: raton

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (raton, supplement)
• ratoun on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub