Etymology: < Amharic ras title given to the highest traditional politico-military leader just below the Negus (see Negus n.¹) and to the prince, transferred use of ras head, cognate with Arabic ra's head, chief, Hebrew rō'š (see Rosh Hashanah n.). In sense 1b after the use of the Amharic title in the name of Ras Tafari (see Rastafari adj. and n.). In sense 2 via Italian ras (although this is apparently first attested slightly later: a1926 in the specific use; 1897 in sense ‘person who makes presumptuous claim to being an authority in some field’), transferred use of ras denoting an Ethiopian leader (a1889). Compare French ras (1672 as raz ; also Middle French arraz (1556), perhaps reflecting an Arabic form with definite article). Compare reis n. 2.

Etymology: < Palmyrene Aramaic rš head, chief, governor (also transliterated rs: see below; compare biblical Aramaic rēšā ), cognate with the Semitic words cited at ras n.¹The form of the English word may have originated by identification of the Aramaic word with its cognate Arabic ra's ras n.¹, or perhaps reflects an alternative transliteration. Like the early Hebrew scripts, the Aramaic script did not distinguish the sibilants ś and š, using one letter for both (in later Hebrew they are differentiated by the addition of a dot on the top or right of the letter), and the letter representing both sibilants is sometimes broadly transliterated as s.

Etymology: As noun shortened < either Rastafari n. or Rastafarian n. As adjective shortened < either Rastafari adj. or Rastafarian adj. In some instances probably influenced by ras n.¹ 1b. Compare earlier Rasta n.², Rasta adj.In sense A. 2 either an internal sense development or shortened < Rastafarianism n. at Rastafarian adj. and n. Derivatives; compare slightly earlier Rasta n.² 2.