Etymograph

English

rob

Rob comes from Middle English robben, from Anglo-Norman rober, from Late Latin raubō, from Frankish *raubōn, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *raubōną ‘to rob’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hrewp-1‘to snatch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*raubōną2‘to rob, steal, plunder’reconstructed
  3. Frankishc. 250–700*raubōn2reconstructed
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEraubō2
  5. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400rober2
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500robben2‘to steal, rob’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1591rob2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *raubōną
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English rob
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “I never robbed the soldiers of their pay.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hrewp-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *raubōną‘to snatch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*raubōnąWiktionary, English rob‘to rob, steal, plunder’reconstructed
  3. Frankishc. 250–700*raubōnWiktionary, English robreconstructed
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEraubōWiktionary, English rob
  5. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400roberWiktionary, English rob
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500robbenWiktionary, English rob‘to steal, rob’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1591robWiktionary, English rob. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “I never robbed the soldiers of their pay.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *Hrewp- ‘to snatch’

corruption, route, corrupt, disrupt, eruption, rupture, robe, 25 more

through Proto-Germanic *raubōną ‘to rob, steal, plunder’

3 more

through Frankish *raubōn

robbery, robber

Another origin of rob

  1. Arabicc. 500–presentربّ‘thickened fruit juice’
  2. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500rob
  3. Englishtodayrob

Today it means

verb To steal from, especially using force or violence.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “rob”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Germanic *raubōną. 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 *Hrewp- / rob

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