ratatiner

French

Etymology

Of onomatopoeic origin. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʁa.ta.ti.ne/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Audio (France (Somain)):(file)

Verb

ratatiner

  1. (transitive, intransitive) to shrink, shrivel
    • 1857, Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary […]‎[1], Paris: Michel Lévy Frères; republished as Eleanor Marx, transl., Madame Bovary, 1886:
      Alors on vit s'avancer sur l'estrade une petite vieille femme de maintien craintif, et qui paraissait se ratatiner dans ses pauvres vêtements.
      Then there came forward on the platform a little old woman with timid bearing, who seemed to shrink within her poor clothes.
  2. (pronominal) to shrivel (up)
  3. (informal) to badly damage, wreck, to destroy
  4. (slang) to kill
  5. (slang) to soundly defeat; to cream

Conjugation

Conjugation of ratatiner (see also Appendix:French verbs)
infinitive simple ratatiner
compound avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1 simple ratatinant
/ʁa.ta.ti.nɑ̃/
compound ayant + past participle
past participle ratatiné
/ʁa.ta.ti.ne/
singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative je (j’) tu il, elle, on nous vous ils, elles
(simple
tenses) 		present ratatine
/ʁa.ta.tin/ 		ratatines
/ʁa.ta.tin/ 		ratatine
/ʁa.ta.tin/ 		ratatinons
/ʁa.ta.ti.nɔ̃/ 		ratatinez
/ʁa.ta.ti.ne/ 		ratatinent
/ʁa.ta.tin/
imperfect ratatinais
/ʁa.ta.ti.nɛ/ 		ratatinais
/ʁa.ta.ti.nɛ/ 		ratatinait
/ʁa.ta.ti.nɛ/ 		ratatinions
/ʁa.ta.ti.njɔ̃/ 		ratatiniez
/ʁa.ta.ti.nje/ 		ratatinaient
/ʁa.ta.ti.nɛ/
past historic2 ratatinai
/ʁa.ta.ti.ne/ 		ratatinas
/ʁa.ta.ti.na/ 		ratatina
/ʁa.ta.ti.na/ 		ratatinâmes
/ʁa.ta.ti.nam/ 		ratatinâtes
/ʁa.ta.ti.nat/ 		ratatinèrent
/ʁa.ta.ti.nɛʁ/
future ratatinerai
/ʁa.ta.tin.ʁe/ 		ratatineras
/ʁa.ta.tin.ʁa/ 		ratatinera
/ʁa.ta.tin.ʁa/ 		ratatinerons
/ʁa.ta.tin.ʁɔ̃/ 		ratatinerez
/ʁa.ta.tin.ʁe/ 		ratatineront
/ʁa.ta.tin.ʁɔ̃/
conditional ratatinerais
/ʁa.ta.tin.ʁɛ/ 		ratatinerais
/ʁa.ta.tin.ʁɛ/ 		ratatinerait
/ʁa.ta.tin.ʁɛ/ 		ratatinerions
/ʁa.ta.ti.nə.ʁjɔ̃/ 		ratatineriez
/ʁa.ta.ti.nə.ʁje/ 		ratatineraient
/ʁa.ta.tin.ʁɛ/
(compound
tenses) 		present perfect present indicative of avoir + past participle
pluperfect imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
past anterior2 past historic of avoir + past participle
future perfect future of avoir + past participle
conditional perfect conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive que je (j’) que tu qu’il, qu’elle que nous que vous qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple
tenses) 		present ratatine
/ʁa.ta.tin/ 		ratatines
/ʁa.ta.tin/ 		ratatine
/ʁa.ta.tin/ 		ratatinions
/ʁa.ta.ti.njɔ̃/ 		ratatiniez
/ʁa.ta.ti.nje/ 		ratatinent
/ʁa.ta.tin/
imperfect2 ratatinasse
/ʁa.ta.ti.nas/ 		ratatinasses
/ʁa.ta.ti.nas/ 		ratatinât
/ʁa.ta.ti.na/ 		ratatinassions
/ʁa.ta.ti.na.sjɔ̃/ 		ratatinassiez
/ʁa.ta.ti.na.sje/ 		ratatinassent
/ʁa.ta.ti.nas/
(compound
tenses) 		past present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
pluperfect2 imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative – tu – nous vous –
simple — ratatine
/ʁa.ta.tin/ 		— ratatinons
/ʁa.ta.ti.nɔ̃/ 		ratatinez
/ʁa.ta.ti.ne/ 		—
compound — simple imperative of avoir + past participle — simple imperative of avoir + past participle simple imperative of avoir + past participle —
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
past historic → present perfect
past anterior → pluperfect
imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive
pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive

(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Derived terms

  • ratatinage
  • ratatinement

Further reading

Anagrams

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