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rat·line also rat·lin (rătlĭn)
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n.
1. Any of the small ropes fastened horizontally to the shrouds of a ship and forming a ladder for going aloft.
2. The material used for these ropes.

[Alteration (perhaps influenced by rat, with reference to ships' rats) of Middle English ratheling in ratheling line, thin cordage used for ratlines, from Middle English rathelen, to entwine + probably from alteration of Middle English raddle, stick, wattle, hurdle woven from wattle, perhaps from Anglo-Norman ridele, redele, rail on the side of a cart, probably of Germanic origin and akin to Middle High German reitel, reidel, toggle, turning handle, Old High German rīdan, to turn, wind; and Old English wrīthan, to writhe; see WRITHE.]

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Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.