Raw
/rɔː/noun
Not cooked, processed, or altered; in a natural or unfinished state.
Did you know?Raw shares an ancient Indo-European root with “crude,” “cruel,” and “cruor,” an old word for flowing blood—linking the everyday adjective to images of flesh and blood.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*krewh₂-
“Raw flesh or fresh blood; the reconstructed root behind later words for rawness and blood.”
Proto-Germanic
Germanic
*hrawaz
“Raw, uncooked, unprocessed.”
Old English
Old English
hrēaw
“Raw, uncooked, undressed, or not fully prepared.”
Middle English
Middle English
raw
“Uncooked or unprocessed; also inexperienced or lacking refinement.”
Modern English
English
raw
“Uncooked, natural, unprocessed, exposed, or emotionally unguarded.”