I. ˈrash, -aa(ə)sh, -aish adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English (northern dialect) rasch active, quick, eager, probably from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German; akin to Old High German rasc fast, hurried, strong, clever, Old Norse röskr brave, vigorous, and perhaps to Old English ræd, ræth quick, Old High German rado quickly, Gothic rathizo easier
1. chiefly dialect : full of life and vigor : energetic
2. : characterized by or proceeding from lack of deliberation or caution : acting, done, or expressed with undue haste or disregard for consequences : imprudently involving or incurring risk : precipitate
in Elizabethan drama the critic is rash who will assert boldly that any play is by a single hand — T.S.Eliot
given to rash generalization from inadequate data — V.L.Parrington
do something rash that he will forever repent — George Meredith
3. obsolete : working quickly and strongly : quickly effective
do this … with no rash potion but with a lingering dram — Shakespeare
4. obsolete : pressing , urgent
my matter is so rash — Shakespeare
Synonyms: see adventurous
II. adverb
Etymology: Middle English (northern dialect) rasshe swiftly, vigorously, from rasch, adjective
archaic : rashly
III. noun
( -es )
Etymology: modification of Middle French ras, from Old Italian raso, from raso, adjective, smooth, from Latin rasus, past participle of radere to scrape, shave — more at rat
: an English clothing fabric of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries made of silk or wool or silk and wool
IV. noun
( -es )
Etymology: obsolete French rache scurf, from Old French rasche, rache, from Old French raschier to scratch (attested only in the meaning “to spit”), from (assumed) Vulgar Latin rasicare, from Latin rasus, past participle of radere to scrape, shave — more at rat
1.
a. : an eruption on the body typically with little or no elevation : exanthem
b. : a large number of instances or manifestations in the same period
the rash of archaeological forgeries that had broken out all over town — John Kobler
fiesta week is also a rash of lavish parties — Ray Duncan
2. : coal so mixed with waste as to be unsalable : dirty coal
V.
dialect
variant of rush