ras

From Amharic ራስ (ras). More at Etymology 2.

ras (plural rases)

1. An Ethiopian king or prince.

From Arabic رأس (raʔs, “head(land)”). Doublet of ras (Etymology 1) above, as well as of resh; further related to reis.

ras (plural rases)

1. A headland; a cape.

Chiefly found in proper names.

• ras el hanout (etymologically unrelated)
• ras malai (etymologically unrelated)

• ARS, ARs, ASR, RSA, SAR, Sar, Sar., ars, asr

Inherited from Latin rāsus, perfect passive participle of rādere (“scrape, shave”). Cognate to Spanish raso.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈras]

ras (feminine rasa, masculine plural rasos, feminine plural rases)

1. past participle of raure

ras (feminine rasa, masculine plural rasos, feminine plural rases)

1. close-cropped, shorn
2. smooth, flat, level
3. level, full to the brim (of a container)

   una mesura rasa de farina ― one level measure of flour

ras m (plural rasos)

1. open country, the open

   al ras ― in the open

• al ras
• rasa

• “ras”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “ras” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
• “ras”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.

• IPA^(key): [ˈras]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

ras m anim

1. a knacker, i.e. a person whose job it is to remove animal carcasses

   Synonym: pohodný

2. a strict, cruel, even ruthless person

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

ras

1. genitive plural of rasa

• “ras”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “ras”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “ras”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

• IPA^(key): /raːs/, [ʁɑːˀs]

ras

1. imperative of rase

• IPA^(key): /rɑs/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ras
• Rhymes: -ɑs

Borrowing from French race.

ras n (plural rassen, diminutive rasje n)

1. race, breed

• In compounds generally refers to a purebred animal (e.g. rashond (“purebred dog”)).

• → Indonesian: ras

From Middle Dutch rasch, from Old Dutch *rasc, from Proto-Germanic *raskuz. Cognates include English rash, German rasch.

ras (comparative rasser, superlative meest ras or rast)

1. (dated outside fixed expressions) quick

   Synonyms: snel, vlug, rap, rad, kwiek, gezwind

   Het project vordert met rasse schreden. ― The project is advancing rapidly.

• This word has mostly fallen in disuse outside of the set phrase met rasse schreden.

Declension of ras
uninflected	ras
inflected	rasse
comparative	rasser
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		ras	rasser	het rast het raste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	rasse	rassere	raste
	n. sing.	ras	rasser	raste
	plural	rasse	rassere	raste
definite		rasse	rassere	raste
partitive		ras	rassers	—

• (obsolete) rasch

From Old French rés (remodelled after raser), itself from Latin rāsus. Doublet of rez.

• IPA^(key): /ʁa/ ~ /ʁɑ/
• Rhymes: -ɑ
• Homophone: raz

ras (feminine rase, masculine plural ras, feminine plural rases)

1. short
2. close-cropped (of hair etc.)

• rasibus

From Amharic.

• IPA^(key): /ʁas/ ~ /ʁɑs/
• Rhymes: -ɑs
• Homophones: race, races (short a only)

ras m (plural ras)

1. ras (Ethiopian king or prince)

ras

1. (text messaging) alternative letter-case form of RAS (“nothing to report”)

• “ras”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

From Dutch ras, from French race, from Middle French rasse (“entirety of ancestors and descendants of the same family or people”), from Italian razza (13th century), of uncertain origin (more at razza).

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈras/ [ˈras]
• Rhymes: -as
• Syllabification: ras

ras (plural ras-ras)

1. race

   Synonym: rumpun bangsa

• “ras” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Borrowed from Amharic ራስ (ras, “head”), from Proto-Semitic *raʾš- (“head”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈras/
• Rhymes: -as
• Hyphenation: ràs

ras m (invariable)

1. (historical) title of the second-highest grade in the hierarchy of the Ethiopian Empire; ras
2. (figurative, derogatory) any small local authority who exercises power despotically
3. a local boss of organized crime
4. (historical) a Fascist party official

• (Fascist official): gerarca

• rais

• negus
• degiac (ethiopian commander of a unit equivalent to a regiment, composed of two to three thousand men)

From Sudanese Arabic راس (rās), from Arabic رَأْس (raʔs).

• IPA^(key): /ˈɾas/, [ˈɾas]

ras

1. (anatomy) head
2. top

• Ian Smith, Morris Timothy Ama (1985) A Dictionary of Juba Arabic & English‎^[2], 1st edition, Juba: The Committee of The Juba Cheshire Home and Centre for Handicapped Children, page 166

ras

1. third-person singular future of rasti
2. third-person plural future of rasti

• IPA^(key): [ras]

  • Audio (Malaysia):

    (file)

  • Rhymes: -ras, -as
• (Etymology 1, alternatively, English-based) IPA^(key): [res]

  • Audio (Malaysia):

    (file)

  • Rhymes: -res, -es
• Hyphenation: ras

Borrowed from English race, from Middle English race, partially from Old English rǣs (“a race, swift or violent running, rush, onset”), from Proto-West Germanic *rās; and partially from Old Norse rás (“a running, race”); both from Proto-Germanic *rēsō (“a course”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁s- (“to flow, rush”).

ras (Jawi spelling رس, plural ras-ras)

1. (anthropology) A race.

   Synonyms: keturunan, kaum, bangsa, puak, etnik

   ras Cina ― Chinese race

Onomatopoeic.

ras (Jawi spelling رس)

1. (Onomatopoeia) A rustling sound.

From Hindi रास (rās) or Urdu راس (rās).^[1]

ras (Jawi spelling رس, plural ras-ras)

1. The reins used by a horse rider to guide a horse.

   Synonym: kekang

• “ras” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

From Arabic رَأْس (raʔs). The word is masculine in standard Arabic, but the feminine is found in some dialects, so there is no need to assume influence by Sicilian testa (though this is not ruled out).

• IPA^(key): /raːs/

ras f (dual (uncommon) rasejn, plural rjus, diminutive rwajsa)

1. (anatomy) head
   • 1970, Anton Buttigieg, “Lis-Sena l-Ġdida 1964”, in Fl-Arena:

     X’sejra ġġibilna ġewwa l-fardal tiegħek.
     ja Sena Ġdida?
     Ah! biegħed minna
     il-għelt, il-ġlied,
     id-demm bejn l-aħwa;
     rażżan ir-regħba u l-ġibdiet tal-ħakma,
     rattab l-irjus u l-qlub,
     ġibilna s-sabar ta’ xulxin, l-imħabba,
     ġibilna l-għaqda,
     ġibilna s-sliem,
     ġibilna l-ħelsien!

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (measure word for livestock or people in a crowd) a single animal or person.
3. beginning
4. front part
5. promontory, headland, cape
6. chief, leader
7. bulb (of garlic)
8. top
9. intellect
10. (in the plural) chapters

From Old Norse ras, compare with the verb rase.

ras n (definite singular raset, indefinite plural ras, definite plural rasa or rasene)

1. an avalanche, landslide, landslip

• skred

• jordras
• snøras
• steinras
• takras

ras

1. imperative of rase

• “ras” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “ras_2” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

From Old Norse ras, itself apparently related to rás (“race, course”); compare with rase.

ras n (definite singular raset, indefinite plural ras, definite plural rasa)

1. an avalanche, landslide, landslip

• skred

• jordras
• snøras
• steinras
• takras

• “ras” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• IPA^(key): /rɑːs/

rās

1. first/third-person singular preterite indicative of rīsan

• IPA^(key): /ˈras/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -as
• Syllabification: ras
• Homophone: raz

ras

1. genitive plural of rasa

Inherited from Latin rāsus.

• IPA^(key): /ras/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -as

ras (past participle of rade)

1. past participle of rade

ras m or n (feminine singular rasă, masculine plural rași, feminine and neuter plural rase)

1. shaved, shaven

• neras

• rade
• răsură

From Russian разъ (raz, “a time”) with a semantic change of unknown origin.

ras

1. a day

   Nogli ras paa kastel ju stannom?

   How many days have you been in the jail?

• dag

• gammel ras (yesterday)

• Ingvild Broch, Ernst H. Jahr (1984) Russenorsk: Et pidginspråk i Norge [Russenorsk: A pidgin language in Norway], 2 edition, Oslo: Novus Forlag

Deverbal from rasar, from raso (“level”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈras/ [ˈras]
• Rhymes: -as
• Syllabification: ras

ras m (plural rases)

1. evenness, levelness

• “ras”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024
• “ras”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010
• ras | Diccionario • DELE Ahora

• IPA^(key): /rɑːs/

• Audio (Gotland):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːs

From Old Norse rás (“race”), from Proto-Germanic *rēsō.

ras c

1. a race (a large group of individuals of the same species set apart from others on the basis of a common heritage), a breed

   hundraser ― dog breeds

Verbal noun of rasa. Compare Danish and Norwegian ras.

ras n

1. a collapse (of a building)
2. a mudslide (geological disaster)
3. a cave in, a collapse inward or downward
4. a fall (of stock market values)
5. (archaic to obsolete) romp, frolic (lively play)
   • 1891, “Det var dans bort i vägen [There was a dance down the road]”, Gustaf Fröding (lyrics), Helfrid Lambert (music)‎^[3]performed by Sven-Ingvars:

     In i snåret av björkar och alar och hassel, var det viskande snack, det var tissel och tassel, bland de skymmande skuggorna där. Det var ras, det var lek över stockar och stenar, det var kutter och smek, under lummiga grenar. Vill du ha mig, så har du mig här!

     In the thicket of birches and alders and hazel, there was whispered [whispering] chatter, there was tittling and tattling, among the obscuring shadows there. There was romp, there was play over logs and rocks, there was cooing and caressing, under leafy branches. If you want me, you have me here!

• ras in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• ras in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• ras in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

• -sar, ars

• IPA^(key): /raːs/
• Rhymes: -aːs

From English race.

ras f (plural rasys, not mutable)

1. race (contest)

• cae ras m (“racecourse”)
• rasio (“race”, verb)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

ras

1. soft mutation of gras (“grace”)

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “ras”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies