Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “range” come from?

Range comes from Middle English rengen, from Old French rengier, combining Old French -ier with Latin -are and -arius, ultimately deriving from Proto-Indo-European (s)ker- and h₃reǵ-.

range (English): A line or series of mountains, buildings, etc; A...

Definitions

  1. A line or series of mountains, buildings, etc; A...

Ancestry of “range”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishrengen—
2Old Frenchrengierto line up; to form ranks
3Old Frenchrengplace; position
4Latinrencusrow; order, rank
5Gaulishrekos—
6Proto-Celticreketito arrange
7Proto-Indo-European(H)rek-to set in order

Words derived from “range”

  • ranging
  • ranger
  • rangeland
  • midrange
  • rangy
  • bushranger
  • rangefinder
  • downrange
  • subrange
  • bushranging
  • multirange
  • outrange
  • rangefinding
  • rangership
  • rangeability
  • rangeth
  • autoranging
  • rangle
  • rangebound
  • rangering
  • ranginess
  • rangewide
  • rangest
  • omnirange
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (H)rek- →