rate
pronunciation
How to pronounce rate in British English:
UK [reɪt]
How to pronounce rate in American English:
US [reɪt]
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- Noun:
- amount of a charge or payment relative to some basis
- a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
- the relative speed of progress or change
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- Verb:
- assign a rank or rating to
- be worthy of or have a certain rating
- estimate the value of
Word Origin
- rate
- rate: English has two words rate. The commoner, ‘relative quantity’ [15], comes via Old French rate from medieval Latin rata ‘calculated, fixed’, as used in the expression pro rata parte ‘according to a fixed part, proportionally’. This was the feminine form of ratus, the past participle of rērī ‘think, calculate’, from which English also gets ratio, ration, reason, etc.The other rate, ‘scold’ [14], is now seldom encountered except in its derivative berate [16]. It is not certain where it comes from, although a possible source is Old French reter ‘accuse, blame’, which comes from Latin reputāre (ancestor of English reputation).=> ratio, ration, reason; berate
- rate (n.)
- "estimated value or worth," early 15c., from Old French rate "price, value" and directly from Medieval Latin rata (pars) "fixed (amount)," from Latin rata "fixed, settled," fem. past participle of reri "to reckon, think" (see reason (n.)). Meaning "degree of speed" (properly ratio between distance and time) is attested from 1650s. Currency exchange sense first recorded 1727. First-rate, second-rate, etc. are 1640s, from British Navy division of ships into six classes based on size and strength. Phrase at any rate originally (1610s) meant "at any cost;" weakened sense of "at least" is attested by 1760.
- rate (v.1)
- "to scold," late 14c., probably from Old French reter "to impute blame, accuse, find fault with," from Latin reputare "to count over, reflect," in Vulgar Latin, "to impute, blame" (see reputation). Related: Rated; rating.
- rate (v.2)
- "estimate the worth or value of," mid-15c., from rate (n.). Intransitive sense of "have a certain value, rank, or standing" is from 1809; specifically as "have high value" from 1928. Related: Rated; rating.
Example
- 1. Built-in motor rotates this illuminated earth at a constant rate .
- 2. Their savings rate is now negative .
- 3. But our retention rate is very high .
- 4. What will be the rate of warming ?
- 5. By 2010 that rate had risen nearly three-and-a-half times .