rate

Etymology 1

From Middle English rate, from Old French rate, from Medieval Latin rata, from Latin prō ratā parte (“according to a fixed part”), from ratus (“fixed”), from rērī (“think, deem, judge, estimate", originally "reckon, calculate”).

noun

1. (obsolete) The worth of something; value.
2. The proportional relationship between one amount, value etc. and another.
   In America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year. Yet of those who received unsolicited adverts through the post, only 3% bought anything as a result. If the bumf arrived electronically, the take-up rate was 0.1%. And for online adverts the “conversion” into sales was a minuscule 0.01%. 2013-05-25, “No hiding place”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8837, page 74
   At the height of his powers, he was producing pictures at the rate of four a year.
3. Speed.
   The car was speeding down here at a hell of a rate.
4. The relative speed of change or progress.
   The rate of production at the factory is skyrocketing.
5. The price of (an individual) thing; cost.
   He asked quite a rate to take me to the airport.
6. A set price or charge for all examples of a given case, commodity, service etc.
   Postal rates here are low.
7. A wage calculated in relation to a unit of time.
   We pay an hourly rate of between $10 – $15 per hour depending on qualifications and experience.
8. Any of various taxes, especially those levied by a local authority.
   I hardly have enough left every month to pay the rates.
9. (nautical) A class into which ships were assigned based on condition, size etc.; by extension, rank.
   This textbook is first-rate.
10. (obsolete) Established portion or measure; fixed allowance; ration.
11. (obsolete) Order; arrangement.
12. (obsolete) Ratification; approval.
    c. 1610s, George Chapman, Caesar and Pompey Tis offerd, Sir, 'boue the rate of Caesar In other men, but in what I approue Beneath his merits: which I will not faile T'enforce at full to Pompey, nor forget In any time the gratitude of my seruice.
13. (horology) The gain or loss of a timepiece in a unit of time.
    daily rate; hourly rate; etc.

verb

1. (transitive) To assign or be assigned a particular rank or level.
   She is rated fourth in the country.
2. (transitive) To evaluate or estimate the value of.
   They rate his talents highly.
   To rate a man by the nature of his companions is a rule frequent indeed, but not infallible. 1661, Robert South, False Foundations Removed (sermon)
3. (transitive) To consider or regard.
   He rated this book brilliant.
4. (transitive) To deserve; to be worth.
   The view here hardly rates a mention in the travel guide.
   Only two assistant district attorneys rate corner offices, and Mandelbaum wasn't one of them. 1955, Rex Stout, "When a Man Murders...", in Three Witnesses, October 1994 Bantam edition, page 101
5. (transitive) To determine the limits of safe functioning for a machine or electrical device.
   The transformer is rated at 10 watts.
6. (transitive, chiefly Britain) To evaluate a property's value for the purposes of local taxation.
7. (transitive, informal) To like; to think highly of.
   The customers don't rate the new burgers.
8. (intransitive) To have position (in a certain class).
   She rates among the most excellent chefs in the world.
   He rates as the best cyclist in the country.
9. (intransitive) To have value or standing.
   This last performance of hers didn't rate very high with the judges.
10. (transitive) To ratify.
11. To ascertain the exact rate of the gain or loss of (a chronometer) as compared with true time.

Etymology 2

From 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”).

verb

1. (transitive) To berate, scold.
   Conscience is a check to beginners in sin, reclaiming them from it, and rating them for it. a. 1692, Isaac Barrow, The Danger and Mischief of Delaying Repentance
   Jyne took the baby, and began to rate the mother mildly for `walkin' seven mile ser soon', but Jyne's mother interposed with a recital of `wot I dun w'en Jun' (John) `wur two days old.' 1902, Barbara Baynton, edited by Sally Krimmer and Alan Lawson, Bush Studies (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton), St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, published 1980, page 71