Emily Dickinson Lexicon

RANK'ED, pp.

Placed in a line; disposed in an order or class; arranged methodically.

RANK'ER, n.

One that disposes in ranks; one that arranges.

RANK'ING, ppr.

Placing in ranks or lines; arranging; disposing in orders or classes; having a certain rank or grade.

RANK'LE, v.i. [from rank.]

1. To grow more rank or strong; to be inflamed; to fester; as, a rankling wound. A malady that burns and rankles inward. – Rowe.
2. To become more violent; to be inflamed; to rage; as, rankling malice; rankling envy. Jealously rankles in the breast.

RANK'LING, n.

The act or process of becoming more virulent. – Dwight.

RANK'LY, adv.

1. With vigorous growth; as, grass or weeds grow rankly.
2. Coarsely; grossly. – Shak.

RANK'NESS, n.

1. Vigorous growth; luxuriance; exuberance; as, the rankness of plants or herbage.
2. Exuberance; excess; extravagance; as, the rankness of pride; the rankness of joy. – Shak.
3. Extraordinary strength. The crane's pride is in the rankness of her wing. – L'Estrange.
4. Strong taste; as, the rankness of flesh or fish.
5. Rancidness; rank smell; as, the rankness of Oil.
6. Excessiveness; as, the rankness of a composition or modus. – Blackstone.

RAN'NY, n.

The shrew-mouse. – Brown.

RAN'SACK, v.t. [Dan. randsager; Sw. ransaka; Gaelic, ransuchadh. Rand, in Danish, is edge, margin, Eng. rand, and ran is rapine. The last syllable coincides with the English verb to sack, to pillage, and in Spanish, this verb, which is written saquear, signifies to ransack.]

1. To plunder; to pillage completely; to strip by plundering; as, to ransack a house or city. – Dryden. Their vow is made to ransack Troy. – Shak.
2. To search thoroughly; to enter and search every place or part. It seems often to convey the sense of opening doors and parcels, and turning over things in search; as, to ransack files of papers. I ransack the several caverns. – Woodward.
3. To violate; to radish; to detour; as, ransacked chastity. [Not in use.] – Spenser.

RAN'SACK-ED, pp.

Pillaged; searched narrowly.

RAN'SACK-ING, ppr.

Pillaging; searching narrowly.

RAN'SOM, n. [Dan. ranzon; Sw. ranson; G. ranzion; Norm. raancon; Fr. rançon; Arm. rançzon. In French, the word implies not only redemption, but exaction; but I know not the component parts of the word. Qu. Dan. ran, a pillaging, and G. sühne, atonement.]

1. The money or price paid for the redemption of a prisoner or slave, or for goods captured by an enemy; that which procures the release of a prisoner or captive, or of captured property, and restores the one to liberty and the other to the original owner. By his captivity in Austria, and the heavy ransom he paid for his liberty, Richard was hindered from pursuing the conquest of Ireland. – Davies.
2. Release from captivity, bondage or the possession of an enemy. They were unable to procure the ransom of the prisoners.
3. In law, a sum paid for the pardon of some great offense and the discharge of the offender; or a fine paid in lieu of corporeal punishment. – Encyc. Blackstone.
4. In Scripture, the price paid for a forfeited life, or for delivery or release from capital punishment. Then he shall give for the ransom of his life, whatever is laid upon him. – Exod. xxi.
5. The price paid for procuring the pardon of sins and the redemption of the sinner from punishment. Deliver him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom. – Job xxxiii. The Son of man came … to give his life a ransom for many. – Matth. xx. Mark x.

RAN'SOM, v.t. [Sw. ransonera; Dan. ranzonerer; Fr. rançonner; Arm. rançzouna.]

1. To redeem from captivity or punishment by paying an equivalent; applied to persons; as, to ransom prisoners from an enemy.
2. To redeem from the possession of an enemy by paying a price deemed equivalent; applied to goods or property.
3. In Scripture, to redeem from the bondage of sin and from the punishment to which sinners are subjected by the divine law. The ransomed of the Lord shall return. – Is. xxxv.
4. To rescue; to deliver. – Hos. xiii.

RAN'SOM-ED, pp.

Redeemed or rescued from captivity, bondage or punishment by the payment of an equivalent.

RAN'SOM-ER, n.

One that redeems.

RAN'SOM-ING, ppr.

Redeeming from captivity, bondage or punishment by giving satisfaction to the possessor; rescuing; liberating.

RAN'SOM-LESS, a.

Free from ransom.

RANT, n.

High sounding language without dignity of thought; boisterous, empty declamation; as, the rant of fanatics. This is stoical rant, without any foundation in the nature of man, or reason of things. – Atterbury.

RANT, v.i. [Heb. and Ch. רנן, رَنً ranna, to cry out, to shout, to sound, groan, murmur; W. rhonta, to frisk, to gambol, a sense of the Hebrew also.]

To rave in violent, high sounding or extravagant language, without correspondent dignity of thought; to be noisy and boisterous in words or declamation; as, a ranting preacher. Look where my ranting host of the garter comes. – Shak.

RANT'ER, n.

A noisy talker; a boisterous preacher.

RANT'ER-ISM, n.

The practice or tenets of ranters.

RANT'ING, ppr.

Uttering high sounding words without solid sense; declaiming or preaching with boisterous empty words.

RANT'I-POLE, a. [from rant.]

Wild; roving; rakish. [A low word.] – Congreve.

RANT'I-POLE, v.i.

To run about wildly. [Low.] – Arbuthnot.

RANT'ISM, n.

The practice or tenets of ranters.