# raţa



## gbf

Hi friends,
I have a problem I would like some romanian speaker help me to solve. It is about the etymology of the Romanian-Romani (gypsy) word 'raţa' used among Roma in Transylvania to refer to a specific group of familiars who are descendent from a common ancestor. I am sure this is not a Romani word, and it is quite surely a loan from Romanian language. One could think that it could come from 'rasă' ('race'), but it is impossible that /s/ becomes /ţ/, because in other loans it doesn't happen. 
I have a really basic knowledge of romanian and in some dictionary 'raţa' looks to be a category of birds, something really strange to be used after to indicate a kinship's category. I would like to find some alternative (and more logical) explication on where this word come from. Any suggestion?
Thank you.
GBF


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## farscape

I don't think I can be of much help here, my knowledge of gypsy language is almost none. Could it be a nick name or a gang name? Or just the name of a person from which a whole clan is descending?

Sing. raţă, pl. raţe = domestic duck (not fowl)
raţa = the duck

Best,


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## gbf

Thank you very much, but it is not a Romani word, it must be a loan from Romanian. In the while I have found that:

RĂȚIȘOÁRĂ, rățișoare, s.f. 1. (Zool.) Rățușcă. 2. (Entom.) Gen de insecte coleoptere lungi, brune-cenușii, cu rostrul lățit, asemănător cu ciocul de rață, care atacă porumbul, sfecla, ovăzul etc. (Tanymecus). *3. (Bot.; la pl.) Plantă erbacee perenă, cu rizom și frunze lungi, cu tulpina scurtă, cu flori mari, albe, galbene sau violacee (Iris pumila). – Rață + suf. -ișoară.*

but I can find a clear definition for it. A botanic metaphor could make sense, as the 'genealogic _tree_'. As a botanic word, what exactly is a 'Rață'?

Thank you.


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## farscape

As far as I know, Rață means only the domestic bird duck. I've never encountered it with any other meaning. I have friend who's a botanist, I can call him tonight and ask his opinion - he's a real botanical encyclopaedia.

Later,


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## gbf

Great, thank you.


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