rash

Synonyms

foolhardy heady impulsive precipitate daring devil-may-care headstrong heedless impetuous imprudent precipitant precipitous quick-and-dirty reckless sudden temeritous rashly epidemic roseola efflorescence skin rash blizzard

Antonyms

prudent unrash shy timid cautious careful

Etymology

The adjective is derived from Middle English rash, rasch (“hasty, headstrong, rash”) [and other forms], probably from Old English *ræsċ (“rash”) (found in derivatives such as ræsċan (“to move rapidly; to flicker; to flash; to glitter; to quiver”), ræsċettan (“to crackle, sparkle”), etc.), from Proto-West Germanic *rask, *raskī, *rasku, from Proto-Germanic *raskaz, *raskuz, *raþskaz, *raþskuz (“rash; rapid”), from Proto-Indo-European *Hreth₂- (“to run, roll”). The Middle English word was probably influenced by the cognates listed below.
The adverb is derived from Middle English rashe (“quickly, rapidly”), from rash, rasch (adjective) (see above).
* Dutch ras, rasch (“rash”)
* Middle Low German rasch (“rash”)
* Old Danish rask (“agile, nimble; fast; healthy, vigorous”) (modern Danish rask (“agile, nimble; fast; healthy, vigorous; hasty, rash”))
* Old High German reski (“impetuous, rash”) (Middle High German rasch, resch (“agile, nimble; fast; lively; healthy, vigorous”), modern German rasch, räsch, resch (“agile, nimble; fast; hasty, rash; healthy, vigorous; of food: crisp, crusty”))
* Old Norse rǫskr (“brave; healthy, vigorous”) (Icelandic röskur (“strong; healthy, vigorous”))
* Old Swedish rasker (“agile, nimble; brave; fast; vigorous”) (modern Swedish rask (“agile, nimble; fast; healthy, vigorous”))

Probably from Old French rasche, rache (“skin eruption, rash; (specifically) scabies, scurf”) (obsolete), from racher (“to scrape; to scratch”) (although this is only directly attested later than the noun), from Vulgar Latin *rāsicāre (“to scrape”), from Latin rāsus (“scraped, scratched; shaved”), the perfect passive participle of rādō (“to scrape, scratch; to shave; to rub, smooth; to brush along, graze”). Doublet of rase and raze.
* French rash, rach (“skin eruption, rash”) (rare) (borrowed from English rash)
* Italian rasca, raschia (“skin eruption like scabies”) (obsolete) (both borrowed from Old Occitan)
* Old Occitan rasca (“skin eruption like scabies”)

Uncertain; the word is similar to other words from Germanic or Romance languages listed in the table below, but the connection between the English word and those words is unclear. One suggestion is that they ultimately derive from the town of Arras in France, known for its cloth and wool industries (whence arras (“tapestry, wall hanging”)); compare German Rasch (“lightly woven silk or (usually) worsted fabric”) (said to be from Middle High German arrasch (“arras”), and ultimately from the name of the town), and the obsolete names for the fabric, Catalan drap de arraz, drap d'Arraç, Spanish paño de ras (literally “cloth of Arras”). The Oxford English Dictionary states that even if rash did not originally derive from Arras, the name of the town could have influenced the English word.
* Catalan ras (“smooth fabric woven from silk”) (also raç (obsolete))
* Danish rask (“thin, coarse woollen cloth usually made from worsted”) (also rasch (obsolete), derived from German)
* Dutch ras (“woven silk or (usually) worsted fabric”) (also rasch (obsolete, rare), rass (obsolete))
* Middle French ras (modern French ras (“various types of short-nap cloth”))
* German Rasch, Low German Rasch (“lightly woven silk or (usually) worsted fabric”) (archaic or historical)
* Italian raso (“smooth fabric woven from silk”), rascia (“serge”)
* Late Latin rasum (“some form of fabric”), pannus rasus (“satin”)
* Old Occitan ras (modern Occitan ras (“smooth fabric woven from silk”); also rac (obsolete))
* Spanish raso (“smooth fabric woven from silk; other types of fabric”)
* Swedish rask (“thin woollen cloth usually made from worsted; similar cloth made from silk”) (also rasch (archaic), rass (obsolete))

Imitative.