Rang German · revision 35432

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1665|origins=gem-pro *hringaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /raŋ/, [ʁaŋ]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Northern: [ʁaŋk]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Rang''' ''m'' (genitive Ranges or Rangs, plural Ränge)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|rang|t=row, order]], borrowed in the 17th century, during the Thirty Years' War.^(Kluge 2011|744)^(Duden 7 2020)^(Paul 2002) It comes in turn from [[fro|renc|t=row, line of battle]], which first meant the circle of those summoned to a court and then the rows of spectators at a tournament.^(Kluge 2011|744)^(Duden 7 2020)^(Pfeifer 1993) The Old French noun was taken from a Germanic word for “ring”, [[frk|*hring]], from [[gem-pro|*hringaz|t=ring, circle]], so the word is a doublet of the native [[Ring]].^(Kluge 2011|744)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch)^(Wiktionary) Pfeifer explains the sense from the circular formation of an army.^(Pfeifer 1993) English has the same French word as [[m|en|rank]].^(Kluge 2011|744)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The word first appears in soldiers' language in 1665;^(Paul 2002)^(DWB|14, 92) Böckler's ''Kriegsschule'' (1668) lists ''range'' “a row” among the foreign military terms in use.^(Paul 2002)^(DWB|14, 92) It meant a row or line of soldiers or warships in battle order.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB|14, 92)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 18th century it took on the sense of a degree in the social order, an office or dignity.^(Pfeifer 1993) At the election of the Roman king in 1658 the Brandenburg envoy objected that ''Rang'' and ''Posten'' were neither Latin nor German, and Stieler complained about the borrowing, but from the end of the 17th century the word counted as naturalised.^(DWB|14, 92) In the 19th century it came to name the tiers of seats in a theatre, and later the prize classes in the lottery and placings in sport.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Paul 2002) The phrase ''Menschen von Rang und Namen'' means people of power and influence.^(Paul 2002)^(Duden GWDS 1999) The word passed into Hungarian (1704), Czech and Slovak.^(LWP)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1658 – At the election of the Roman king an envoy objects to ''Rang'' as foreign.^(DWB|14, 92)

+ * 1665 – First record, in military language.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 18th century – The sense “social rank, dignity” develops.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1704 – Hungarian ''rang'' is borrowed from German.^(LWP)

+ * 1809 – First record of ''Rangliste''.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 19th century – ''Rang'' names a tier in a theatre.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|rank|alt=Rank]], a position in a hierarchy: ''im Rang eines Majors''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Standing, importance or quality: ''ein Künstler von Rang'';^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary) ''ersten Ranges'', of the first order.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[m|en|tier]] or [[m|en|balcony]] in a theatre; in the plural also the stands of a stadium.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A prize class in the lottery or the football pools.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(sports)'' A place in a ranking or results table.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[rangieren]]

+ * [[Rangliste]]

+ * [[Rangordnung]]

+ * [[ranghoch]]

+ * [[Vorrang]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Ring]]

+ * [[arrangieren]]

+ * [[en|rank]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Jemandem den Rang ablaufen'' “to outdo someone” originally had nothing to do with this word: it contains ''Rank'' “a quick turn”, the bend by which a runner or a hunting dog gains a lead, and was reinterpreted as ''Rang'' in the 18th century.^(DWB|14, 91)^(Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch)^(Duden 7 2020) A separate regional ''Rang'' “border, slope, bank”, from Middle High German ''ranc'', is found in Franconia, the Upper Palatinate and Alsace.^(DWB|14, 91)^(FWB)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}