[rank] adj [ME, fr. OE ranc overbearing, strong; akin to ON rakkr erect and perh. to OE riht right--more at right] (13c) 1: luxuriantly or excessively vigorous in growth
2: offensively gross or coarse: foul 3 obs: grown too large
4. a: shockingly conspicuous "must lecture him on his ~ disloyalty --David Walden" b: outright--used as an intensive "~ beginners"
5. archaic: lustful, ruttish
6: offensive in odor or flavor; esp: rancid 7: putrid, festering 8: high in amount or degree: fraught syn see malodorous, flagrant -- rank.ly adv -- rank.ness n
[2]rank n [ME, fr. MF renc, reng, of Gmc origin; akin to OHG hring ring--more at ring] (14c) 1 a: row, series b: a row of people c (1): a line of soldiers ranged side by side in close order (2) pl: armed forces (3) pl: the body of enlisted personnel d: any of the rows of squares that extend across a chessboard perpendicular to the files e Brit: stand
6.
2. a: relative standing or position b: a degree or position of dignity, eminence, or excellence: distinction "soon took ~ as a leading attorney --J. D. Hicks" c: high social position "the privileges of ~" d: a grade of official standing in a hierarchy
3: an orderly arrangement: formation
4: an aggregate of individuals classed together--usu. used in pl.
5: the order according to some statistical characteristic (as the score on a test)
6: any of a series of classes of coal based on increasing alteration of the parent vegetable matter, increasing carbon content, and increasing fuel value 7: the number of linearly independent rows or columns in a matrix [3]rank vt (1573) 1: to arrange in lines or in a regular formation
2: to determine the relative position of: rate
3: to take precedence of ~ vi 1: to form or move in ranks
2: to take or have a position in relation to others