Rati

Old Norse Dictionary - rati

Meaning of Old Norse word "rati" in English.

As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:

rati Old Norse word can mean:

rati: a, m., qs. vrati, but the v is dropped even in old Runic inscriptions:—prop. the traveller; it remains in the name of the squirrel, Rata-töskr = Tusk the traveller, the climber Tusk, see the tale in Edda; as also in the name of the gimlet by which Odin ‘made his way’ into the mountain where the mead of wisdom was hidden, Edda, Hm. 106.

rati: II. a demoniac, raver, madman, who wanders about as if hunted: in the Runic phrase, varþi at rata haugs upp briotr, may the breaker of his cairn become a rati, Rafn 181; at rita (= rata) sá varþi es stain þannsi elti eþa ept annan dragi, 188; sa varþi at rita es ailti stein þannsi eþa heþan dragi, 194, cp. the Engl. ‘blest be the man that spares these stones, and curs’d be he that moves these bones,’ on Shakespeare’s tombstone; rati remains in the popular Icel. = a heedless, forgetful, senseless fellow, þú ert mesti rati! and ratalegr, adj. clownish, silly; rata-skapr, m. rashness, heedlessness.

Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᚱᛅᛏᛁ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements

Abbreviations used:

m.: masculine.

prop.: proper, properly.

qs.: quasi.

adj.: adjective.

cp.: compare.

Engl.: English.

gl.: glossary.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

l.: line.

Works & Authors cited:

Edda: Edda. (C. I.)

Hm.: Hává-mál. (A. I.)

➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

Also available in related dictionaries:

This headword also appears in dictionaries of other languages descending from Old Norse.