Ratline
/ˈræt.laɪn/noun
A rope or route used for climbing a ship’s rigging, or an illicit escape and transport network.
Did you know?The espionage sense grew from the nautical image of sailors climbing rope “ladders,” and later described clandestine routes that helped Nazi fugitives escape Europe after 1945.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
Old English
ræt
“Rat, the small rodent; the word’s ultimate Germanic origin is uncertain.”
Middle English
Middle English
ratte
“Rat; a familiar term for the rodent that became the first element of the compound.”
Old English to Middle English
English
line
“A cord, thread, or narrow strip; from Latin linea, “flax thread” or “line.””
17th Century
English
ratline
“A horizontal rope fixed between a ship’s shrouds, forming ladder-like steps for climbing the rigging.”
20th Century
English
ratline
“A clandestine route for moving people secretly, especially escape networks operating after World War II.”
Modern English
English
ratline
“Either a nautical climbing rope or a covert escape-and-transport network.”