Etymograph

English

ravin

Ravin comes from Latin rapīna ‘pillage, plunder, robbery, rapine’, from Proto-Italic *rapjō ‘to seize, take away’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rep- ‘to snatch’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁rep-1‘to snatch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*rapjō1‘to seize, take away’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErapiō2
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErapīna1‘pillage, plunder, robbery, rapine’
  5. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400ravein1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ravin1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1530ravin1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English ravin
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin rapina
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1530, The Table of Verbes: “He is an horrible lurtcher ſe howe he rauyneth:…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁rep-Wiktionary, English ravin‘to snatch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*rapjōWiktionary, English ravin‘to seize, take away’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErapiōWiktionary, Latin rapina
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErapīnaWiktionary, English ravin‘pillage, plunder, robbery, rapine’
  5. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400raveinWiktionary, English ravin
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ravinWiktionary, English ravin
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1530ravinWiktionary, English ravin. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1530, The Table of Verbes: “He is an horrible lurtcher ſe howe he rauyneth:…”

The story

The noun is derived from Middle English ravin, ravine, raven (‘rapine, robbery; rape; force, violence; greed, rapacity; stolen goods, booty, plunder; prey, quarry; pursuit of prey; predatoriness, voracity’), from Anglo-Norman ravein, raveine, ravine (‘rapine, robbery; rape; force, violence; greed, rapacity; impetuousness; stolen goods’), Middle French ravine, and Old French ravine (‘rapine, robbery; force, violence; impetuousness’), from Latin rapīna (‘pillage, plunder, robbery, rapine; booty, plunder’), from rapiō (‘to abduct, carry off; to grab, snatch; to rape; to steal’) (from Proto-Italic *rapjō (‘to seize, take away’), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rep- (‘to snatch’)) + -īna (suffix forming abstract nouns).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *rapjō ‘to seize, take away’

rapidity, 7 more

through Latin rapiō

rape, rapid, rapture, raptor, rapacious, rapt, 8 more

through Middle English ravin

raven

Today it means

noun Property obtained or seized by force or violence; booty, plunder, spoils.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ravin”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin rapina. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁rep- / ravin

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