rank

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See also: Rank, ránk, and ränk

Translingual

Symbol

rank

  1. (mathematics) The symbol for rank.

English

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɹæŋk/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -æŋk

Etymology 1

From Middle English rank (“strong, proud”), from Old English ranc (“proud, haughty, arrogant, insolent, forward, overbearing, showy, ostentatious, splendid, bold, valiant, noble, brave, strong, full-grown, mature”), from Proto-West Germanic *rank, from Proto-Germanic *rankaz (“straight”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“straight, direct”). Cognate with Dutch rank (“slender, slim”), Low German rank (“slender, projecting, lank”), Danish rank (“straight, erect, slender”), Swedish rank (“slender, shaky, wonky”), Icelandic rakkur (“straight, slender, bold, valiant”).

Adjective

rank (comparative ranker or more rank, superlative rankest or most rank)

  1. (obsolete) Strong; powerful; capable of acting or being used with great effect; energetic; vigorous; headstrong.
    1. Strong in growth; growing with vigour or rapidity, hence, coarse or gross.
      rank grass
      rank weeds
      1. Causing strong growth; producing luxuriantly; rich and fertile.
        rank land
        • 1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. […], London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for H[enry] Mortlock […], and J[onathan] Robinson […], →OCLC:
          fow Sprat or Fullum Barley, which is the best for rank Land, because it doth not run ſo much to Straw
      2. Suffering from overgrowth or hypertrophy; plethoric.
        • 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I:
          The moon had spread over everything a thin layer of silver—over the rank grass, over the mud, upon the wall of matted vegetation standing higher than the wall of a temple […]
    2. Strong to the senses; offensive; noisome.
      1. Having a very strong and bad taste or odor.
        Synonyms: stinky, smelly, (UK) pongy
        Your gym clothes are rank, bro – when'd you last wash 'em?
      2. (informal) Gross, disgusting, foul.
  2. (intensifier, negative) complete, unmitigated, utter.
    Synonyms: thorough, virulent
    rank treason
    rank nonsense
    I am a rank amateur as a wordsmith.
    • 2018 June 18, Phil McNulty, “Tunisia 1 – 2 England”, in BBC Sport‎[1], archived from the original on 21 April 2019:
      England's domination of the first half was almost total, but they somehow contrived to allow Tunisia to raise themselves off the floor by virtue of rank carelessness from [Gareth] Southgate's side.
    • 2011 March 1, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Man Utd”, in BBC:
      Chelsea remain rank outsiders to retain their crown and they still lie 12 points adrift of United, but Ancelotti will regard this as a performance that supports his insistence that they can still have a say when the major prizes are handed out this season.
  3. (obsolete) lustful; lascivious
Derived terms
Translations

Adverb

rank (comparative more rank, superlative most rank)

  1. (obsolete) Quickly, eagerly, impetuously.

Etymology 2

From Middle English rank (“line, row”), from Old French ranc, rang, reng (“line, row, rank”) (Modern French rang), from Frankish *hring (“ring”), from Proto-Germanic *hringaz (“something bent or curved”).

Akin to Old High German (h)ring, Old Frisian hring, Old English hring, hrincg (“ring”), Old Norse hringr (“ring, circle, queue, sword; ship”). Doublet of ring and rink.

Noun

rank (countable and uncountable, plural ranks)

  1. A row of people or things organized in a grid pattern, often soldiers.
    Antonym: file
    The front rank kneeled to reload while the second rank fired over their heads.
    • 1684, Richard Elton, The compleat body of the Art Military […] ‎[2], 2nd edition, page 196:
      The Musketeers being on both flancks, firſt firing let the Ranck ſtand, and fire every Ranck, paſſing through before his leader […]
    • 1907, Harold Bindloss, chapter 7, in The Dust of Conflict‎[3]:
      Then there was no more cover, for they straggled out, not in ranks but clusters, from among orange trees and tall, flowering shrubs […] .
  2. (chess) One of the eight horizontal lines of squares on a chessboard (i.e., those identified by a number).
    Antonym: file
  3. (music) In a pipe organ, a set of pipes of a certain quality for which each pipe corresponds to one key or pedal.
  4. One's position in a list sorted by a shared property such as physical location, population, or quality.
    Based on your test scores, you have a rank of 23.
    The fancy hotel was of the first rank.
  6. The level of one's position in a class-based society.
  7. (typically in the plural) A category of people, such as those who share an occupation or belong to an organisation.
    a membership drawn from the ranks of wealthy European businessmen
    • 2017 September 23, “From north Wales to Norfolk, distraught beekeepers ask: who’s stealing our hives?”, in The Observer‎[4]:
      Earlier this month police in Norfolk were called after five hives thought to contain around 60,000 bees and £600 worth of honey were taken. [...] Suspicions among beekeepers that the culprits come from their own ranks were underlined by the fact that a bee smoker was left at the scene by someone who presumably knew that it could be used to calm the insects before taking them.
  9. A hierarchical level in an organization such as the military.
    Private First Class (PFC) is the second-lowest rank in the Marines.
    He rose up through the ranks of the company, from mailroom clerk to CEO.
  10. (taxonomy) A level in a scientific taxonomy system.
    Phylum is the taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class.
  11. (mathematics) The dimensionality of an array (computing) or tensor.
  13. (linear algebra) The maximal number of linearly independent columns (or rows) of a matrix.
  14. (algebra) The maximum quantity of D-linearly independent elements of a module (over an integral domain D).
  15. (mathematics) The size of any basis of a given matroid.
Derived terms
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb

rank (third-person singular simple present ranks, present participle ranking, simple past and past participle ranked)

  1. To place abreast, or in a line.
  2. To have a ranking.
    Their defense ranked third in the league.
  3. To assign a suitable place in a class or order; to classify.
    • 1725, Isaac Watts, Logick: Or, The Right Use of Reason in the Enquiry after Truth, […], 2nd edition, London: […] John Clark and Richard Hett, […], Emanuel Matthews, […], and Richard Ford, […], published 1726, →OCLC:
      Ranking all things under general and special heads.
    • 1725–1726, Homer, “(please specify the book or chapter of the Odyssey)”, in [William Broome, Elijah Fenton, and Alexander Pope], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC:
      Poets were ranked in the class of philosophers.
    • 1667, attributed to Richard Allestree, The Causes of the Decay of Christian Piety. […], London: […] R. Norton for T. Garthwait, […], →OCLC:
      Heresy [is] ranked with idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, murders, and other sins of the flesh.
    • 1960 December, Cecil J. Allen, “Operating a mountain main line: the Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon: Part One”, in Trains Illustrated, page 743:
      From time to time the coaches of the Lötschberg Railway itself, which in comfort and décor can rank with the finest in Europe today, travel far from the frontiers of Switzerland on through workings such as these.
  4. (US) To take rank of; to outrank.
Derived terms
Translations

References

Anagrams

Dutch

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch ranc, from Old Dutch *ranc, from Proto-West Germanic *rank, from Proto-Germanic *rankaz.[1]

Adjective

rank (comparative ranker, superlative rankst)

  1. slender, svelte
Inflection
Declension of rank
uninflected rank
inflected ranke
comparative ranker
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial rank ranker het rankst
het rankste
indefinite m./f. sing. ranke rankere rankste
n. sing. rank ranker rankste
plural ranke rankere rankste
definite ranke rankere rankste
partitive ranks rankers —
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Middle Dutch ranc, ranke, from Old Dutch *rank, from Frankish hranca.

Noun

rank f (plural ranken, diminutive rankje n)

  1. tendril, a thin winding stem
  2. name of various vines
  3. an object or ornamental pattern resembling a stem
Derived terms

References

  1. ^ J. de Vries & F. de Tollenaere, "Etymologisch Woordenboek", Uitgeverij Het Spectrum, Utrecht, 1986 (14de druk)

Anagrams

German

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle Low German rank, ranc, from Old Saxon *rank, from Proto-West Germanic *rank.

Pronunciation

Adjective

rank (strong nominative masculine singular ranker, comparative ranker, superlative am ranksten)

  1. (poetic, dated, except in the phrase rank und schlank) lithe, lissome

Declension

Positive forms of rank
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist rank sie ist rank es ist rank sie sind rank
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative ranker ranke rankes ranke
genitive ranken ranker ranken ranker
dative rankem ranker rankem ranken
accusative ranken ranke rankes ranke
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der ranke die ranke das ranke die ranken
genitive des ranken der ranken des ranken der ranken
dative dem ranken der ranken dem ranken den ranken
accusative den ranken die ranke das ranke die ranken
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein ranker eine ranke ein rankes (keine) ranken
genitive eines ranken einer ranken eines ranken (keiner) ranken
dative einem ranken einer ranken einem ranken (keinen) ranken
accusative einen ranken eine ranke ein rankes (keine) ranken
Comparative forms of rank
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist ranker sie ist ranker es ist ranker sie sind ranker
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative rankerer rankere rankeres rankere
genitive rankeren rankerer rankeren rankerer
dative rankerem rankerer rankerem rankeren
accusative rankeren rankere rankeres rankere
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der rankere die rankere das rankere die rankeren
genitive des rankeren der rankeren des rankeren der rankeren
dative dem rankeren der rankeren dem rankeren den rankeren
accusative den rankeren die rankere das rankere die rankeren
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein rankerer eine rankere ein rankeres (keine) rankeren
genitive eines rankeren einer rankeren eines rankeren (keiner) rankeren
dative einem rankeren einer rankeren einem rankeren (keinen) rankeren
accusative einen rankeren eine rankere ein rankeres (keine) rankeren
Superlative forms of rank
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist am ranksten sie ist am ranksten es ist am ranksten sie sind am ranksten
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative rankster rankste rankstes rankste
genitive ranksten rankster ranksten rankster
dative rankstem rankster rankstem ranksten
accusative ranksten rankste rankstes rankste
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der rankste die rankste das rankste die ranksten
genitive des ranksten der ranksten des ranksten der ranksten
dative dem ranksten der ranksten dem ranksten den ranksten
accusative den ranksten die rankste das rankste die ranksten
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein rankster eine rankste ein rankstes (keine) ranksten
genitive eines ranksten einer ranksten eines ranksten (keiner) ranksten
dative einem ranksten einer ranksten einem ranksten (keinen) ranksten
accusative einen ranksten eine rankste ein rankstes (keine) ranksten

Verb

rank

  1. singular imperative of ranken

Further reading

  • “rank” in Duden online
  • “rank” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
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