A Ranger Ranges Over Ground
A ranger patrols an area of land. The word comes from ranging, meaning to roam over a territory.
A ranger is an official who patrols and protects an area of land. The name describes the movement: to *range* is to roam over a territory, and medieval forest rangers ranged across royal forests enforcing the law. The word later attached to park wardens, to military units, and to a category of scout.
- A park or forest official. *A park ranger.*
- A soldier of a special unit. *An army ranger.*
- To roam. *Cattle ranged widely.*
- Free-range — allowed to roam. *Free-range eggs.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | ranger | A forest ranger. |
| Plural | rangers | Park rangers. |
| Verb | range | Range over the moor. |
| Noun | range | A wide range. |
| Compound | free-range | Free-range poultry. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Rangers protect national parks.Conservation.
- A mountain range is a line of peaks.From the sense of a row.
- Free-range means able to roam.Though the legal minimum varies.
Senses of *range*
- To roam — cattle range over pasture
- A row or line — a mountain range
- An extent — a range of prices
- A cooking appliance — a kitchen range
- A shooting area — a rifle range
From *range*, from Old French *rengier*, to place in a row, from *renc*, a rank or line, from a Germanic root.
Why is a cooker called a range?
From the sense of a row: an early range was a row of fireplaces or hobs built into a single structure.
Are range and rank related?
Yes. Both come from a Germanic word meaning a line or row, arriving through French.