An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/rasen

by Friedrich Kluge

rasen, verb, ‘to rave, rage,’ from Middle High German rasen (rare), ‘to storm, rave’; corresponding to Low German rasen, Dutch razen. It is usually thought that the word was borrowed from Low German, since it is not found in High German till the end of the 13th century. Allied to Anglo-Saxon râsettan, ‘to rave,’ rœ̂san, ‘to make a violent attack,’ rœs, ‘attack, charge’ (compare English race), Old Icelandic rás, ‘race, running,’ and rasa, ‘to rush headlong.’