I. ˈrand noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English rand, rond; akin to Middle Dutch & Middle Low German rant edge, rim, Old High German edging, rim of a shield, shield, Old Norse rönd rim, shield, Old English rima rim — more at rim
1. dialect chiefly England : an unplowed edge of a field : border
2. dialect : the coarse grass growing on the edge
3. Africa : a long low stony ridge
4. : a beveled U-shaped strip usually of leather put on a shoe before the lifts of the heel
5. : a course of simple weaving in basketmaking with one osier rod at a time often of thin material used to fill in — see basket illustration
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1. : to cut into rands or strips
2. : to fit with rands (as in the manufacture of shoes)
III. ˈrand, in South Afr. usu ˈrȧnd or ˈrȧnt or ˈränt noun
( plural rand or rands )
Etymology: from the Rand ( Witwatersrand ), gold-producing district in South Africa
1.
a. : the basic monetary unit of the Republic of South Africa established in 1961 — see money table in the Dict
b. : the former basic monetary unit of Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland
2. : a coin or note representing one rand