rank

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A person's position or level within a group or organization.

   She rose to a high rank in the army.

2. 2
   verb

   To put things in order according to how good or important they are.

   How would you rank these students?

3. 3
   verb

   To hold a particular position compared with others.

   This painting ranks among the best in the world.

4. 4
   noun

   A row of people, especially soldiers, standing side by side.

   The entrance was guarded by ranks of police.

5. 5
   adj

   Having a strong, unpleasant smell or taste.

   The milk had gone rank and smelled awful.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Rank denoting a position or row entered Middle English from Old French and ultimately comes from a Germanic root, probably the same root as ring. The adjective rank is a separate Old English word: it first meant “fully grown” or “luxuriant,” then developed senses involving disagreeable excess, as in rank grass or a rank smell.

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”).

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
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