Ratting
/ˈrætɪŋ/noun
The act of hunting rats or, informally, informing on or betraying someone.
Did you know?The betrayal sense developed from the long-standing association of rats with stealth, filth, and abandonment, while ratting also literally referred to hunting rats with dogs or terriers.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic or early Germanic period
Germanic
*rattōn
“A reconstructed or proposed animal-name form associated with the rat; the ultimate origin is uncertain and may be expressive or borrowed.”
Old English period
Old English
rætt
“Rat or mouse-like rodent; the form is uncertainly attested and later replaced by forms related to Middle English ratte.”
12th–13th Century
Middle English
ratte
“A rat, especially the familiar urban rodent.”
15th–16th Century
English
rat
“A rat; the word also became a term of abuse for a contemptible or treacherous person.”
19th Century
English
ratting
“Hunting rats, especially with dogs or terriers.”
Early 20th Century
English
ratting
“Informing on someone or betraying a group; an extension of rat as a label for a traitor.”
Modern English
English
ratting
“Hunting rats or, chiefly in the phrase “ratting someone out,” reporting or betraying them.”