Etymograph

English

ruttle

Ruttle comes from Middle English rotelen ‘to make a rattling sound while breathing, flap’.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rotelen1‘to make a rattling sound while breathing, flap’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1973ruttle1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English ruttle
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1973, Ronald Illingworth, Common Symptoms of Disease in Children: “Ruttling, heard readily without a stethoscope, is due to…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rotelenWiktionary, English ruttle‘to make a rattling sound while breathing, flap’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1973ruttleWiktionary, English ruttle. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1973, Ronald Illingworth, Common Symptoms of Disease in Children: “Ruttling, heard readily without a stethoscope, is due to…”

Every English word from Middle English rotelen

Today it means

noun A rattling sound in the throat arising from difficulty in breathing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ruttle”. 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 / Middle English rotelen / ruttle

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