Meaning

noun a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit

noun amount of a charge or payment relative to some basis

noun the relative speed of progress or change

originFrom Middle English raten (“to scold, chide”), from Old Norse hrata (“to refuse, reject, slight, find fault with”), from Proto-Germanic *hratōną (“to sway, shake”), from Proto-Indo-European *krad- (“to swing”). Cognate with Swedish rata (“to reject, refuse, find fault, slight”), Norwegian rata (“to reject, cast aside”), Old English hratian (“to rush, hasten”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0