Meaning

noun any red eruption of the skin

noun a series of unexpected and unpleasant occurrences

adjective imprudently incurring risk; - George Meredith

originUncertain; the word is similar to other words from Germanic or Romance languages listed in the table below, but the connection between the English word and those words is unclear. One suggestion is that they ultimately derive from the town of Arras in France, known for its cloth and wool industries (whence arras (“tapestry, wall hanging”)); compare German Rasch (“lightly woven silk or (usually)…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0