Also

Posted by Nita on March 08, 2002

In Reply to: Re: Raring to go posted by nita on March 08, 2002

: : "Raring to go" -- where did it come from?

: : Possible guess is that it's equestrian -- "rearing to go" -- as in a hard to hold horse, but only a guess.

: : John

: There is actually something about that covered on this site -
: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/201900.html

All of these words, including raise, come from Old Teutonic raizjan- "raise". The Old English form was ræran.
Rare in this sense first appears in the written record in the early 19th century: "He just rared up on his hind legs." The first instance of raring to go in the OED comes from the early 20th century.