Online Etymology Dictionary

range (n.): c.1300, "row or line of persons" (esp. hunters or soldiers), from O.Fr. range "range, rank," from rangier "to place in a row, arrange," from reng "row, line" (see rank (n.)). Meaning "row of mountains" is from 1705. Meaning "scope, extent" first recorded 1666; that of "area over which animals seek food" is from 1626, from the verb meaning "move over a large area" (1477). Specific U.S. sense of "series of townships six miles in width" is from 1785. Sense of "distance a gun can send a bullet" is recorded from 1591; meaning "place used for shooting practice" is from 1862. The verb sense of "to arrange in rows" is recorded from 1375. The cooking appliance so called since 1446, for unknown reasons. Rangy is 1868, "adapted for ranging;" the meaning "having a long, slender form" (as an animal suited to ranging) is from 1876.
ranger: late 14c., "gamekeeper," from range (n.)). Attested from 1660s in sense of "man (often mounted) who polices an area." Modern military sense of "member of an elite U.S. combat unit" is attested from 1942 (organized 1941).
sierra: "a range of hills," 1613, from Sp. sierra "jagged mountain range," lit. "saw," from L. serra "a saw."
Appalachian: N.Amer. mountain range, c.1600, Mountaynes Apalatsi; written apalachen by Sp. explorers and originally in ref. only to the southern end of the range. Originally the name of the Apalachee, a Muskogean people of northwestern Fla., perhaps from Apalachee abalahci "other side of the river" or Hitchiti (Muskogean) apalwahči "dwelling on one side." Spelling shifted under infl. of adjectives in -ian.
blind spot: 1864, "spot within one's range of vision where yet one cannot see." Of flaws in the eye, from 1872; figurative sense in use by 1907.
UHF: 1937, abbreviation of ultra-high frequency (1932) in ref. to radio frequencies in the range of 300 to 3,000 megahertz.
blinkered: 1867, in the figurative sense, from horses wearing blinkers to limit the range of their vision.
Pocono: mountain range and region in eastern Pennsylvania, from Delaware (Algonquian), perhaps Pocohanne "stream between mountains."
big time: "upper reaches of a profession or pursuit," c.1910 from vaudeville slang; the phrase was common in colloquial use late 19c.-early 20c. in a broad range of senses: "party, shindig, fun, frolic."
Browning: one of a range of U.S.-made weapons, 1905, named for inventor, John M. Browning (1855-1926) of Utah.
derringer: 1850, for Henry Deringer (1786-1868), U.S. gunsmith who invented it in the 1840s; prevailing misspelled form is how his name appeared on the many counterfeits and imitations. "A small pistol with a large bore, very effective at short range" [OED].
carefully: O.E. carful-lice, from careful, with a range of meanings in O.E. corresponding to those of that word.
visibility: 1581, "condition of being seen," from L.L. visibilitas (see visible). Meaning "range of vision under given conditions" is from 1914. Sense of "prominence, fame, public attention" is recorded from 1958.
Carpathian: mountain range of Eastern Europe, from Thracian Gk. Karpates oros, lit. "Rocky Mountain;" related to Albanian karpe "rock."
ballpark: "baseball stadium," 1899, from (base)ball + park. Fig. sense of "acceptable range of approximation" first recorded 1960, originally referring to area within which a spacecraft was expected to return to earth; the reference is to broad but reasonably predictable dimensions.
dereliction: 1590s, "abandonment" (formerly with a wider range than in modern use, e.g. of the sea withdrawing from the land), from L. derelictionem, noun of action from derelinquere (see derelict). Meaning "failure in duty" is from c.1830.
wooly: 1578, "resembling or made of wool," from wool (q.v.). Meaning "barbarous, rude" is recorded 1891, from wild and wooly (1884) applied to the U.S. western frontier, perhaps in reference to range steers or to unkempt cowboys.
lunette: 1580, from M.Fr., lit. "little moon," dim. of lune "moon," from L. luna. Originally a type of horse shoe, later applied to a wide range of objects and ornamentations resembling a crescent moon.
alto: 1784, "man with an alto voice," from It., from L. altus "high" (see old). Now more commonly applied to the lower range of women's voices (which is more strictly the contralto), an extension first recorded in 1881.
countryside: lit. "one side of a country" (a valley, a mountain range, etc.), from country + side; hence, "any tract of land having a natural unity" (1727).
ken (v.): "to know," Scot. dial., from O.E. cennan "make known, declare, acknowledge," originally "make to know," causative of cunnan "to become acquainted with, to know" (see can (v.)). The noun meaning "range of sight" (1590) is a nautical abbreviation of kenning.
Nevada: U.S. state, named for Sierra Nevada mountain range, lit. "snowy mountains," from alt. form of Sp. nevado "snowy" (see neve).
Caucasus: mountain range between Europe and the Middle East, from Gk. kaukhasis, said by Pliny ("Natural History," book six, chap. XVII) to be from a Scythian word similar to kroy-khasis, lit. "(the mountain) ice-shining, white with snow." But possibly from a Pelasgian root *kau- meaning "mountain."
attainder: "extinction of rights of a person sentenced to death or outlaw," mid-15c., from O.Fr. ataindre "to touch upon, strike, hit, seize, accuse, condemn" (see attain). O.Fr. infinitive used as a noun. Latin attingere had a wide range of meanings, including "to attack, to strike, to appropriate, to manage," all somehow suggested by the literal sense "to touch."
Teton: member of a western Sioux people, 1806, from Dakota titonwan, lit. "dwellers on the prairie," from thi + huwa. Not related to the Grand Teton mountain range.
vocabulary: 1532, "list of words with explanations," from M.L. vocabularium "a list of words," from L. vocabulum "word, name, noun," from vocare "to name, call" (see voice). Meaning "range of language of a person or group" is first attested 1753.
Polaris: Mod.L., short for stella polaris, lit. "the pole star" (see polar). The ancient Greeks called it Phoenice, "the Phoenician (star)," since the Phoenicians used it for navigation, though due to procession of the equinoxes it was not then the pole star. As the name of a U.S. Navy long-range submarine-launched guided nuclear missile, it dates from 1957.
ultrasonic: 1923, "having frequency beyond the audible range," from ultra- + sonic. For sense, see supersonic. First record of ultrasound is from 1923; in ref. to ultrasonic techniques of detection or diagnosis it is recorded from 1958.
occult: 1530s, "secret, not divulged," from L. occultus "hidden, concealed, secret," pp. of occulere "cover over, conceal," from ob "over" + a verb related to celare "to hide," from PIE base *kel- (see cell). Meaning "not apprehended by the mind, beyond the range of understanding" is from 1540s. The association with the supernatural sciences (magic, alchemy, astrology, etc.) dates from 1630s.
commit: late 14c., from L. committere "to bring together," from com- "together" + mittere "to put, send" (see mission). Evolution into modern range of meanings is not entirely clear. Sense of "perpetrating" was ancient in Latin. The intransitive use (in place of commit oneself) first recorded 1982, probably influenced by existentialism use (1948) of commitment to translate Sartre's engagement "to emotionally and morally engage."
sack (v.1): "to plunder," 1549, from M.Fr. sac, in the phrase mettre à sac "put it in a bag," a military leader's command to his troops to plunder a city (parallel to It. sacco, with the same range of meaning), from V.L. *saccare "to plunder," originally "to put plundered things into a sack," from L. saccus "bag" (see sack (n.1)). The notion is probably of putting booty in a bag. This is the root of the verb in the U.S. football sense (1969).
tier: "row, rank, range," 1569, from M.Fr. tire, from O.Fr. tire "rank, sequence, order" (c.1210), probably from tirer "to draw, draw out" (see tirade). Some suggests the O.Fr. noun is from a Gmc. source akin to O.H.G. ziari, Ger. Zier "adornment," O.E. tir "glory, honor."
Exocet: 1970, proprietary name of a rocket-propelled short-range guided missile, trademarked 1970 by Société Nationale Industrielle Aerospatiale, from Fr. exocet "flying fish," from L. exocoetus, from Gk. exokoitos "sleeping fish, fish that sleeps upon the beach," from exo "outside" + koitos "bed."
jurisdiction: c.1300 "administration of justice" (attested from 1267 in Anglo-L.), from L. jurisdictionem (nom. jurisdictio) "administration of justice, jurisdiction," from jus (gen. juris; see jurist) "right, law" + dictionem (nom. dictio) "a saying." Meaning "extent or range of administrative power" is from c.1380.
align: early 15c., "to range (things) in a line," from M.Fr. aligner, from O.Fr. alignier, from à "to" + lignier "to line," from L. lineare, from linea (see line). Trans. or reflective sense of "to fall into line" is from 1853. International political sense is attested from 1934.
overhear: "to hear what one is not meant to hear," 1549, from over + hear (q.v.). The notion is perhaps "to hear beyond the intended range of the voice." O.E. oferhieran meant "to not listen, to disregard, disobey" (cf. overlook, and M.H.G. überhaeren, M.Du. overhoren in same sense).
sweep (v.): c.1300, perhaps from a past tense form of M.E. swope "sweep," from O.E. swapan "to sweep" (transitive & intransitive); see swoop. The noun meaning "range, extent" is attested from 1679; in ref. to police or military actions, it is attested from 1837. Sense of "a winning of all the tricks in a card game" is from 1814 (see sweepstakes); extended to other sports by 1960. As a shortened form of chimney-sweeper, first attested 1812.
Hindu: 1662, from Pers. Hindu (adj. & noun) "Indian," from Hind "India," from Skt. sindhu "river," specifically the Indus; hence "region of the Indus," gradually extended across northern India. Hinduism, blanket term for "polytheism of India," is from 1829. The Hindu Kush mountain range means lit. "Indian killer," and was said to have been originally the name given by the Persians to a pass where their Indian slaves had perished in winter.
bespeak: O.E. besprecan "speak about, speak against, complain," from be- + sprecan "to speak" (see speak). A common Germanic compound (cf. O.S. bisprecan, Du. bespreken, O.H.G. bisprehhan, Ger. besprechen); originally "to call out," it evolved a wide range of meaning in English, including "speak up," "oppose," "request," "discuss, "arrange," and "to order (goods)" (1580s).
"The connection of the senses is very loose; some of them appear to have arisen quite independently of each other from different applications of BE- pref." [OED]
cable: c.1200, from O.N.Fr., from M.L. capulum "lasso, rope, halter for cattle," from L. capere "to take, seize" (see capable). Technically, in nautical use, a rope 10 or more inches around (smaller ones being hawsers); in non-nautical use, a rope of wire (not hemp or fiber). Given a new range of senses in 19c.: Meaning "message received by telegraphic cable" is from 1883 (short for cable message). As a verb, "to tie up with cables" is from c.1500; "to transmit by cable" is 1871, Amer.Eng. Cable car is from 1887. Cable television first attested 1963; shortened form cable is from 1972.
gamut: 1530, originally, "lowest note in the medieval musical scale," in the system of notation devised by Guido d'Arezzo, contraction of M.L. gamma ut, from gamma, the Gk. letter, indicating a note below A + ut (later do), the low note on the six-note musical scale that took names from corresponding syllables in a L. hymn for St. John the Baptist's Day:
"Ut queant laxis resonare fibris
Mira gestorum famuli tuorum
Solve polluti labii reatum,"
etc. Gamut came to be used for "the whole musical scale" by 1529; the figurative sense of "entire scale or range" of anything is first recorded 1626.
back (n.): O.E. bæc "back, backwards, behind," from P.Gmc. *bakam (cf. O.S., M.Du. bak, O.Fris. bek), with no known connections outside Germanic. The cognates mostly have been ousted in this sense in other modern Gmc. languages by words akin to Modern English ridge (cf. Dan. ryg, Ger. Rücken). Many I.E. languages show signs of once having distinguished the horizontal back of an animal (or a mountain range) from the upright back of a human. In other cases, a modern word for "back" may come from a word related to "spine" (It. schiena, Rus. spina) or "shoulder, shoulder blade" (Sp. espalda, Pol. plecy).
life: O.E. life (dat. lif), from P.Gmc. *liba- (cf. O.N. lif "life, body," Du. lijf "body," O.H.G. lib "life," Ger. Leib "body"), properly "continuance, perseverance," from PIE *lip- "to remain, persevere, continue, live" (see leave). Much of the modern range of meaning was present in O.E. Extended 1703 to "term of duration (of inanimate objects)." Life cycle is attested from 1873. Life-and-death "vitally important" is from 1822. Life of Riley is from 1919, perhaps from 1880s song about a man named O'Reilly and how he got rich and lived at ease. Lifer "prisoner serving a life sentence" is slang from 1830.
audience: late 14c., "the action of hearing," from O.Fr. audience, from L. audentia "a hearing, listening," from audientum (nom. audiens), prp. of audire "to hear," from PIE compound *au-dh- "to perceive physically, grasp," from base *au- "to perceive" (cf. Gk. aisthanesthai "to feel;" Skt. avih, Avestan avish "openly, evidently;" O.C.S. javiti "to reveal"). Meaning "formal hearing or reception" is from late 14c.; that of "persons within hearing range, assembly of listeners" is from early 15c. (Fr. audience retains only the older senses). Sense transferred 1855 to "readers of a book." Audience-participation (adj.) first recorded 1940.
stalk (v1.): "pursue stealthily," O.E. -stealcian, as in bestealcian "to steal along," from P.Gmc. *stalkojanan, probably from a frequentative of the root of steal (cf. hark from hear, talk from tell). Or it may be from a sense of stalk (v.1), influenced by stalk (n.). Meaning "harass obsessively" first recorded 1991. Stalker earlier meant "a poacher" (1424) and "one who prowls for purposes of theft" (1508). A stalking-horse was lit. a horse trained to allow a fowler to conceal himself behind it to get within range of the game; fig. sense of "person who participates in a proceeding to disguise its real purpose" is recorded from 1612.
galley: c.1300, from O.Fr. galie, from M.L. galea, from Late Gk. galea, of unknown origin. The word has made its way into most Western European languages. Originally "low flat-built seagoing vessel of one deck," once common in the Mediterranean; meaning "cooking range on a ship" dates from 1750. The printing sense is from 1652, from Fr. galée in the same sense, in reference to the shape of the oblong tray that holds the type. As a short form of galley-proof it is attested from 1890. To knock something or someone galleywest is Amer.Eng. slang (1875, originally in Mark Twain), a corruption of western England dialectal collyweston, name of a village in Northamptonshire that somehow came to signify "askew, not right."
trend (v.): 1598, "to run or bend in a certain direction" (of rivers, coasts, etc.), from M.E. trenden "to roll about, turn, revolve," from O.E. trendan, from P.Gmc. *trandijanan (cf. O.E. trinde "round lump, ball," O.Fris. trind, M.L.G. trint "round," M.L.G. trent "ring, boundary," Du. trent "circumference," Dan. trind "round"); origin and connections outside Gmc. uncertain. Sense of "have a general tendency" (used of events, opinions, etc.) is first recorded 1863, from the nautical sense. The noun meaning "the way something bends" (coastline, mountain range, etc.) is recorded from 1777; sense of "general tendency" is from 1884. Trend-setter first attested 1960; trendy is from 1962.
sphere: 1530s, restored spelling of M.E. spere (c.1300) "space, conceived as a hollow globe about the world," from O.Fr. espere (13c.), from L. sphæra "globe, ball, celestial sphere," from Gk. sphaira "globe, ball," of unknown origin. Sense of "ball, body of globular form" is from late 14c. Medieval astronomical meaning "one of the 8 (later 10) concentric, transparent, hollow globes believed to revolve around the earth and carry the heavenly bodies" is from late 14c.; the supposed harmonious sound they made rubbing against one another was the music of the spheres (late 14c.). Meaning "range of something" is first recorded c.1600 (e.g. sphere of influence (1885), in reference to British-German colonial rivalry in Africa). A spherical number (1640s) is one whose powers always terminate in the same digit as the number itself (5,6, and 10 are the only ones).
fiasco: 1855, theater slang for "a failure," by 1862 acquired the general sense of any dismal flop, on or off the stage. Via Fr. phrase fiare fiasco "turn out a failure," from It. far fiasco "suffer a complete breakdown in performance," lit. "make a bottle," from fiasco "bottle," from L.L. flasco, flasconem (see flask). The reason for all this is utterly obscure today, but "the usual range of fanciful theories has been advanced" [Ayto]. Weekley finds it utterly mysterious and compares Fr. ramasser un pelle "to come a cropper (in bicycling), lit. to pick up a shovel." OED makes nebulous reference to "alleged incidents in Italian theatrical history." Klein suggests Venetian glass-crafters tossing aside imperfect pieces to be made later into common flasks. But according to an Italian dictionary, fare il fiasco used to mean "to play a game so that the one that loses will pay the fiasco," in other words, he will buy the next bottle (of wine). That plausibly connects the word with the notion of "a costly mistake."
band (1): "a flat strip," also "something that binds," a merger of two words, ultimately from the same source. In the sense "that by which someone or something is bound," it is attested from 1126, from O.N. band "thin strip that ties or constrains," from P.Gmc. *bindan (related to Mod.Eng. bend and bind), from PIE *bendh- "to bind" (cf. Goth bandi "that which binds; Skt. bandhah "a tying, bandage," source of bandana; M.Ir. bainna "bracelet"). Most of the fig. senses of this word have passed into bond (q.v.), which originally was a phonetic variant of band. The meaning "a flat strip" (late 14c.) is from O.Fr. bande "strip, edge, side," via O.N.Fr. bende, from O.H.G. binda, from P.Gmc. *bindan (see above). In M.E., this was distinguished by the spelling bande, but since the loss of the final -e the words have fully merged. Meaning "broad stripe of color" is from 1470; the electronics sense of "range of frequencies or wavelengths" is from 1922. The O.N.Fr. form was retained in heraldic bend.