Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Rank

Definition: Rank

Rank

Adjective

1. Very fertile; producing profuse growth; "rank earth".

2. Very offensive in smell or taste; "a rank cigar".

3. Conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible; "a crying shame"; "an egregious lie"; "flagrant violation of human rights"; "a glaring error"; "gross ineptitude"; "gross injustice"; "rank treachery".

4. Complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers; "absolute freedom"; "an absolute dimwit"; "a downright lie"; "out-and-out mayhem"; "an out-and-out lie"; "a rank outsider"; "many right-down vices"; "got the job through sheer persistence"; "sheer stupidity".

5. Growing profusely; "rank jungle vegetation".

Noun

1. A row or line of people (especially soldiers or police) standing abreast of one another; "the entrance was guarded by ranks of policemen".

2. Relative status; "his salary was determined by his rank and seniority".

3. The ordinary members of an organization (such as the enlisted soldiers of an army); "the strike was supported by the union rank and file"; "he rose from the ranks to become a colonel".

4. Position in a social hierarchy; "the British are more aware of social status than Americans are".

5. The body of members of an organization or group; "they polled their membership"; "they found dissension in their own ranks"; "he joined the ranks of the unemployed".

Verb

1. Take or have a position relative to others; "This painting ranks among the best in the Western World".

2. Assign a rank or rating to; "how would you rank these students?".

3. Take precedence or surpass others in rank.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "rank" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references)

 

Specialty Definition: Rank

DomainDefinition

Satire

RANK, n. Relative elevation in the scale of human worth. He held at court a rank so high That other noblemen asked why. "Because," 'twas answered, "others lack His skill to scratch the royal back." Aramis Jukes. Source: Devil's Dictionary.

Business

When either capital or income is distributed to shareholders, it is paid out in accordance with the rank(or ranking)of the shares. Source: European Union. (references)

Math

For a given match, this is the number of matches in a longest chain terminating with that match, inclusive. (references)

Mining

A. Describes the stage of carbonification attained by a given coal b. The place occupied by a coal in a classification. Specifications of the American Society for Testing and Materials cover the classification of coals according to their degree of metamorphism, or progressive alteration, from lignite to anthracite. For a complete description of this classification, consult ASTM Designation: D 388 c. When applied to coal, denotes its age in geological formation, not necessarily denoting quality d. The position of a coal relative to other coals in the coalification series from brown coal (low rank) to anthracite (high rank), indicating its maturity in terms of its general chemical and physical properties e. Those differences in the pure coal material due to geological processes designated as metamorphic, whereby the coal material changes from peat through lignite and bituminous coal to anthracite or even to graphite f. All coallike fossil fuels form a continuous and progressive series, ranging from lignite, through the various bituminous coals, to anthracite. It is the position of a particular coal in this series that determines its rank. Therefore, lignite is a low-rank coal while anthracite is a high-rank coal. See also:coalification; grade; Hilt's Law; coal rank g. A term primarily devised to indicate the position of a fuel in the series peat-anthracite, probably best measured by the percentage of carbon (ashless, dry basis). Thus rank depends on the degree of metamorphism of coal, and increase of rank is, in general, marked by the decrease of volatiles and moisture h. The term rank may also be applied to other series, such as the sapropelic coal series or the bitumen series. CF:ty. (references)

Slang

Adjective. Source: Unknown. Definition: The meaning of this word is something that really stinks. Context: This word is used to express when one thinks that the actions of another were not right. Social Source: Camp Ojai. Source: Compiled by The University of Oregon. (additional references)

Slang in 1811

RANK. Stinking, rammish, ill-flavoured; also strong, great. A rank knave; a rank coward: perhaps the latter may allude to an ill savour caused by fear. Source: 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue.

Statistics

The term occurs in statistical work in at least three contexts:(a)in the theory of order relations, the rank of a single observation among a set is its ordinal number when the set is ordered according to some criterion such as values of a variate borne by the individuals; (b)in matrix theory the term occurs in its usual mathematical sense, being the greatest number r of linearly independent rows or columns which can be found in it; (c)derived from the previous usage, the rank of a multivariate distribution is the rank of its dispersion matrix, and is thus the number of variates which are independent in the sense of not being connected by linear equations. Source: European Union. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Top     

Specialty Definition: Military rank

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Military rank, or simply rank, is a system of grading seniority and command within military organizations. A separate set of ranks was also used for secular, and occasionally ecclesiastic, rulers, as discussed in Ranks of nobility and peerage. A set of rank is also used in academic organizations.

Within military organizations, the use of ranks is almost universal. The Chinese People's Liberation Army of the 1960s and 1970s is a rare example of a military which attempted (quite unsuccessfully) to abolish rank.

Roman Ranks

The use of formalized ranks came into widespread use with the Roman Legions, after the introduction of reforms by the consul Gaius Marius which were completed around 60 CE. In the new system a legion would be commanded by a legatus, typically a senator given a three-year term. Immediately under the legatus were six tribunes, five senior officers and one nobleman who was headed for the Senate.

The fighting men in the legion were formed into ranks, rows of men who fought as a unit. In the new system these were divided into groups of ten cohorts, each consisting of six centuries of 100 men. Each century was led by a centurion. Additional centurions served as scribes and filled other duties. Centuries were further broken into ten contubernia, of eight soldiers each. Individual soldiers were referred to as miles or legionarius.

Modern Ranks

Most modern military services recognize three broad categories of serviceman. These are codified in the Geneva Conventions.

Typical Army Commissioned Officer Ranks and Responsibilities

ais typically led byconsists of
Army GroupGeneral or Field Marshalseveral Armies
ArmyGeneralseveral Corps
CorpsLieutenant Generalseveral Divisions
DivisionMajor Generalseveral Regiments or Brigades
Brigade or RegimentBrigadier General or Colonelseveral Battalions
Battalion or Task ForceLieutenant Colonelseveral Companies
Major
CompanyCaptainseveral Platoons
PlatoonFirst or Second Lieutenantseveral squads or sections

Many of these ranks are recent additions. The basic unit of an army up to about the 16th century was the Company which is still known as a Troop in the cavalry and Battery in the artillery. By the 18th century and into the 19th century, the Regiment formed the basic army unit, broken into companies sometimes arranged as Battalions. Brigades and Divisions are more recent additions, with the Brigade replacing the Regiment outright in the British Army. The Division is now the lowest regular army unit that is equipped and supplied to routinely operate independently in the field. (Armored Cavalry Regiments and Special Operations teams are the exception.)

During most of the time since the fall of the Roman Empire the head of the military forces has been the King, often leading in person. This role, if filled, has since been passed on to dedicated military officers known either as General of the Army or Field Marshal.

See also

Comparative military ranks
Military unit

External link

Military Rank

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Military rank."

Top     



Rank

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

See:

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Rank."

Top     



Rank (matrix theory)

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

In linear algebra, the column rank (row rank respectively) of a matrix A with entries in some field is defined to be the maximal number of columns (rows respectively) of A which are linearly independent.

The column rank and the row rank are indeed equal and is simply called the rank of A. It is commonly denoted by either rk(A) or rank A.

Alternative definitions

The maximal number of linearly independent columns of the m-by-n matrix A with entries in the field F is equal to the dimension of the column space of A (the column space being the subspace of Fm generated by the columns of A).

Alternatively and equivalently, we can define the rank of A as the dimension of the row space of A.

If one considers the matrix A as a linear map

f : Fn -> Fm
with the rule
f(x) = Ax
then the rank of A can also be defined as the dimension of the image of f, or as n minus the dimension of the kernel of f (see linear map for a discussion of image and kernel). These definitions have the advantage that they can be applied to any linear map without need for a specific matrix.

Properties

We assume that A is an m-by-n matrix over the field F and describes a linear map f as above.

As an example of the "<" case, consider the product

where Ir denotes the r-by-r identity matrix.

Computation

The easiest way to compute the rank of a matrix A is given by the Gauss elimination method. The row-echelon form of A produced by the Gauss algorithm has the same rank as A, and its rank can be read off as the number of non-zero rows.

Consider for example the 4-by-4 matrix

We see that the second column is twice the first column, and that the fourth column equals the sum of the first and the third. The first and the third columns are linearly independent, so the rank of A is two. This can be confirmed with the Gauss algorithm. It produces the following row echelon form of A:

which has two non-zero rows.

Generalization

There are different generalisations of the concept of rank to matrices over arbitrary ring. In those generalisations, column rank, row rank, dimension of column space and dimension of row space of a matrix may be different from the others or may not exist.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Rank (matrix theory)."

Top     



Rank of an abelian group

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The rank, or torsion-free rank, of an abelian group measures how large a group is in terms of how large a vector space one would need to "contain" it, or alternatively how large of a free abelian group it can contain.

Definition

An abelian group is often thought of as composed of its torsion subgroup T, and its torsion-free part A/T. The t.f. rank describes how complicated the torsion-free part can be.

More precisely, let A be an abelian group and T the torsion subgroup, T = { a in A : na = 0 for some nonzero integer n }. Let Q denote the set of rational numbers. The t.f. rank of A is equal to all of the following cardinal numbers:

Following the same pattern, we may also define t.f. ranks of all modules over any principal ideal domain R. Instead of Q we then use the field of fractions of R.

Properties

There are many abelian groups of rank 0, but the only torsion-free one is the trivial group {0}.

As one would expect, the rank of Zn is n for every natural number n. More generally, the rank of any free abelian group (as explained in that article) coincides with its t.f. rank.

The following fact can often be used to compute ranks: if

is a short exact sequence of abelian groups, then
(Proof: tensoring the given sequence with Q yields a short exact sequence of Q-vectorspaces since Q is flat; vector space dimensions are additive on short exact sequences.)

Another useful formula, familiar from vector space dimensions, is the following about arbitrary direct sums:

Curiosities about large rank groups

There is a complete classification of t.f. rank 1 torsion-free groups. Larger ranks are more difficult to classify, and no current system of classifying rank 2 torsion-free groups is considered very effective.

Larger ranks, especially infinite ranks, are often the source of entertaining paradoxical groups. For instance for every cardinal d, there are many torsion-free abelian groups of rank d that cannot be written as a direct sum of any pair of their proper subgroups. Such groups are called indecomposable, since they are not simply built up from other smaller groups. These examples show that torsion-free rank 1 groups (which are relatively well understood) are not the building blocks of all abelian groups.

Furthermore, for every integer n ≥ 3, there is a rank 2n-2 torsion-free abelian group that is simultaneously a sum of two indecomposable groups, and a sum of n indecomposable groups. Hence for ranks 4 and up, even the number of building blocks is not well-defined.

Another example, due to A.L.S. Corner, shows that the situation is as bad as one could possibly imagine: Given integers n ≥ k ≥ 1, there is a torsion-free group A of rank n, such that for any partition of n into r1 + ... + rk = n, each ri being a positive integer, A is the direct sum of k indecomposable groups, the first with rank r1, the second r2, ..., the k-th with rank rk. This shows that a single group can have all possible combinations of a given number of building blocks, so that even if one were to know complete decompositions of two torsion-free groups, one would not be sure that they were not isomorphic.

Other silly examples include torsion-free rank 2 groups An,m and Bn,m such that An is isomorphic to Bn if and only if n is divisible by m.

When one allows infinite rank, one is treated to a group G contained in a group K such that K is indecomposable and is generated by G and a single element, and yet every nonzero direct summand of G has yet another nonzero direct summand.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Rank of an abelian group."

Top     



Tensor (intrinsic definition)

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Note: This is a fairly abstract mathematical approach to tensors. If you are baffled by this article, try reading the main tensor article and the classical treatment first.

The modern component-free approach to the theory of tensors views tensors initially as abstract objects, expressing some definite type of multi-linear concept. Their well-known properties can be derived from their definitions, as linear maps or more generally; and the rules for manipulations of tensors arise as an extension of linear algebra to multilinear algebra.

In differential geometry an intrinsic geometric statement may be described by a tensor field on a manifold, and then doesn't need to make references to coordinates at all. The same is true in general relativity, of tensor fields describing a physical property. The component-free approach is also used heavily in abstract algebra and homological algebra, where tensors arise naturally.

Definition

Let V and W be two real vector spaces. Their tensor product is a real vector space

together with a bilinear map

If {ei} and {fj} are bases for V and W, the set

is a basis for this tensor product, the dimension of which is given by the product of the dimensions of V and W. (Just to avoid confusion, note that here the same symbol has been used with two different--albeit related--senses, one for vector spaces, and one for individual vectors.) This tensor product can be generalized to more than just two vector spaces.

A tensor on the vector space V is then defined to be an element of (i.e. a vector in) the following vector space:

where V* is the dual space of V.

If there are m copies of V and n copies of V* in our product, the tensor is said to be of type (m, n) and of contravariant rank m and covariant rank n. The tensors of rank zero are just the scalars R, those of contravariant rank 1 the vectors in V, and those of covariant rank 1 the one-forms in V* (for this reason the last two spaces are often called the contravariant and covariant vectors).

Note that the (1,1) tensors

are isomorphic in a natural way to the space of linear transformations (i.e. matrices) from V to V. An inner product V × V → R corresponds in a natural way to a (0,2) tensor in

called the associated metric and usually denoted g.

In differential geometry, physics and engineering, we usually deal with tensor fields on differentiable manifolds. (The term "tensor" is sometimes used as a shorthand for "tensor field".) For instance, the curvature tensor is discussed in differential geometry and the stress-energy tensor is important in physics and engineering. Both of these are related by Einstein's theory of general relativity. In engineering, the underlying manifold will often be Euclidean 3-space. A tensor field assigns to any given point of the manifold a tensor in the space

where V is the tangent space at that point and V* is the cotangent space. See also tangent bundle and cotangent bundle.

For any given coordinate system we have a basis {ei} for the tangent space V (note that this may vary from point-to-point if the manifold is not linear), and a corresponding dual basis {ei} for the cotangent space V* (see dual space). The difference between the raised and lowered indices is there to remind us of the way the components transform.

For example purposes, then, take a tensor A in the space

The components relative to our coordinate system can be written

Here we used the Einstein notation, a convention useful when dealing with coordinate equations: when an index variable appears both raised and lowered on the same side of an equation, we are summing over all its possible values. In physics we often use the expression

to represent the tensor, just as vectors are usually treated in terms of their components. This can be visualized as an n × n × n array of numbers. In a different coordinate system, say given to us as a basis {ei'}, the components will be different. If (xi'i) is our transformation matrix (note it is not a tensor, since it represents a change of basis rather than a geometrical entity) and if (yii') is its inverse, then our components vary per

In older texts this transformation rule often serves as the definition of a tensor. Formally, this means that tensors were introduced as specific representations of the group of all changes of coordinate systems.

/Old Talk - still has some stuff that should likely be merged in

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Tensor (intrinsic definition)."

Top     

Synonyms: Rank

Synonyms: absolute (adj), crying(a) (adj), downright (adj), egregious (adj), flagrant (adj), glaring (adj), gross (adj), out-and-out(a) (adj), rank(a) (adj), right-down (adj), sheer(a) (adj), membership (n), rank and file (n), social rank (n), social station (n), social status (n), grade (v), order (v), outrank (v), place (v), range (v), rate (v). (additional references)

Top     

Synonyms within Context: Rank

ContextSynonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).

Arrangement

Verb: reduce to order, bring into order; introduce order into; rally. arrange, dispose, place, form; put in order, set in order, place in order; set out, collocate, pack, marshal, range, size, rank, group, parcel out, allot, distribute, deal; cast the parts, assign the parts; dispose of, assign places to; assort, sort; sift, riddle; put to rights, set to rights, put into shape, put in trim, put in array; apportion.

Combatant

Army, corps d'armee, host, division, battalia, column, wing, detachment, garrison, flying column, brigade, regiment, corps, battalion, sotnia, squadron, company, platoon, battery, subdivision, section, squad; piquet, picket, guard, rank, file; legion, phalanx, cohort; cloud of skirmishers.

Degree

Noun: degree, grade, extent, measure, amount, ratio, stint, standard, height, pitch; reach, amplitude, range, scope, caliber; gradation, shade; tenor, compass; sphere, station, rank, standing; rate, way, sort.

Greatness

Goodly, noble, precious, mighty; sad, grave, heavy, serious; far gone, arrant, downright; utter, uttermost; crass, gross, arch, profound, intense, consummate; rank, uninitiated, red-hot, desperate; glaring, flagrant, stark staring; thorough-paced, thoroughgoing; roaring, thumping; extraordinary.; important; unsurpassed; (supreme); complete. august, grand, dignified, sublime, majestic; (repute).

Inexpedience

Bad, ill, arrant, as bad as bad can be, dreadful; horrid, horrible; dire; rank, peccant, foul, fulsome; rotten, rotten at the core.

Judgment

Form an estimate, estimate, appreciate, value, count, assess, rate, rank, account; regard, consider, think of; look upon; (believe); review; size up.

Nobility

Noun: nobility, rank, condition, distinction, optimacy, blood, pur sang, birth, high descent, order; quality, gentility; blue blood of Castile; ancien regime.

Term

Noun: term, rank, station, stage, step; degree; scale, remove, grade, link, peg, round of the ladder, status, position, place, point, mark, pas, period, pitch; stand, standing; footing, range.

Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

Top     

Crosswords: Rank

English words defined with "rank": flag rankhigher rankmilitary rankrank and file, rank order, Rear rank. (references)
Specialty definitions using "rank": Brevet RankGalton's rank order testRANK RIDER, rank stem, rank tests, rank varietySpearman rank correlation coefficient, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. (references)
Etymologies containing "rank": Triarian. (references)
Non-English Usage: "Rank" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses.

Dutch (slender, slim, twig), Manx (exuberant, lush, luxuriant, quick-growing, rampant, rank), Swedish (shaky, wonky).

Top     

Modern Usage: Rank

DomainUsage

Screenplays

That's so we know where we rank in the scheme of things (Titanic; writing credit: James Cameron)

Love knows nothing of rank or river bank (Shakespeare in Love; writing credit: Marc Norman; Tom Stoppard)

Rank? Why ain't nobody got a rank in Megaforce (Megaforce; writing credit: Bob Kachler; André Morgan)

You're a punk, a rank amateur, a costumed errand boy taking orders from a senile old man. (Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker; writing credit: Bob Kane; Paul Dini)

I out rank you. (Darkness Falls; writing credit: John Fasano)

Lyrics

Mo' cheese in da bank, mo' rank (Take it to Da House; performing artist: Trick Daddy)

Movie/TV Titles

The Rank and the File (1971)

Name Rank and Number (1941)

The Rank Outsider (1920)

Rank Impersonator Luke (1916)

Song Titles

Hydrocortisone (performing artist: Rank Strangers)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Top     

Commercial Usage: Rank

DomainTitle

References

  • The Rank Group PLC: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (reference)

    (more reference examples)

  

Books

  • Acts of Will: The Life and Work of Otto Rank (reference)

  • Breaking Rank (reference)

  • Go for the Eagle: A Guide to Achieving Scouting's Highest Rank (reference)

  • Ladder to the Clouds: Intrigue and Tradition in Chinese Rank (reference)

  • Rank Ladies: Gender and Cultural Hierarchy in American Vaudeville (Gender and American Culture) (reference)

    (more book examples)

  

Periodicals

  • National Faculty Salary Survey By Discipline And Rank In Fou (reference)

  • Top Rank Florida Book Of Lists (reference)

    (more periodical examples)

  

Theater & Movies

  • 3AABUU ACAMAC PRIMARIUS Martial Arts NOT DANGER sports ideal kids OFFICIAL BLUE BELT RANK (reference)

  • 5° AABUU ACAMAC PRIMARIUS of Martial Arts safe NOT KO sports OFFICIAL BROWN BELT RANK (reference)

    (more DVD examples; more video examples)

  

Music

  

High Tech

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Top     

Image Slideshow: Rank

Illustrations:
Rank

More pictures...

Top     

Photo Album: Rank

ThumbnailDescription & CreditThumbnailDescription & Credit

H. Arnold Karo Director of Coast and Geodetic Survey 1955-1965 Deputy Administrator of ESSA with rank of Vice-Admiral 1965-1966. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.

Miss Lucile Petry, the first Chief Nurse Officer with rank of Assistant Surgeon General. Credit: National Library of Medicine.

Nineteenth Century stipple engraving, depicting Dale later in life. During his service in the Continental and United States Navies, he reached the rank of Captain and, in 1801-1802, commanded the U.S. squadron in the Mediterranean Sea. Credit: NAVY.

Halftone reproduction of a photograph of the members of the ship's band during her 1904-1905 cruise. Those present include (in order by rank, not as seen in the photo): Bandmaster Fred Hupe, Conductor; Bandmaster Bernard L. Reilly; First Musician Roy D. Crider; Musicians First Class Harry C. Arnold, Alonzo E. Buteau, Arnie B. Chandler, Joseph J. Quinn, William L. Waite, and William J. Young; Musicians Second Class Nathaniel Fichtelberg, Calvin W. Hake, Avery J. Hilton, James G. Robinson, Harry J. Smith, James G. Willson and John D. Winters. Credit: NAVY.

Stirrup Branch Plantation, Bishopville, S.C., on the 75th birthday of Capt. James Rembert, June 8, 1857--Rear view of house shows slaves by rank. Credit: Library of Congress.

Chinese-Americans get officer rank. Camp Barkeley, Texas, The first Chinese-Americans to be commissioned second lieutenants in the Medical Administrative Corps Officer Candidate School have received their bars at this Army center. The men are Calvin S. Ch. Credit: Library of Congress.

U.S. Negro troops in New Guinea. "Parade rest" command is given to soldiers holding "retreat" formation in New Guinea. Apparently third soldier is rear rank failed to hear command. Credit: Library of Congress.

Infantry maneuvers, by the darktown volunteers: "in the front rank he fell.". Credit: Library of Congress.

Bangkok - a boy of rank standing at railway station; mother and child seated in background. Credit: Library of Congress.

He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt ... Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Top     

Familiar Quotations: Rank

AuthorQuotation

Albert Einstein

He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice.

Cardinal Richelieu

Nothing so upholds the laws as the punishment of persons whose rank is as great as their crime.

Jean De La BruyFre

Marriage, it seems, confines every man to his proper rank.

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

If you modestly enjoy your fame you are not unworthy to rank with the holy.

Leszczynski Stanislaus

To be vain of one's rank or place is to show that one is below it.

Marcus T. Cicero

When you are aspiring to the highest place, it is honorable to reach the second or even the third rank.

Napoleon Bonaparte

When soldiers have been baptized in the fire of a battle-field, they have all one rank in my eyes.

Senator John James Ingalls

In the democracy of the dead all men at last are equal. There is neither rank nor station nor prerogative in the republic of the grave.

Tacitus

All things now held to be old were once new. What today we hold up by example, will rank hereafter as precedent.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Top     

Historic Usage: Rank

AuthorDateQuotation

John Locke

1690

A state also of equality, wherein all the power and jurisdiction is reciprocal, no one having more than another; there being nothing more evident, than that creatures of the same species and rank, promiscuously born to all the same advantages of nature, and the use of the same faculties, should also be equal one amongst another without subordination or subjection, unless the lord and master of them all should, by any manifest declaration of his will, set one above another, and confer on him, by an evident and clear appointment, an undoubted right to dominion and sovereignty. (Second Treatise of Government)

Marbury v. Madison

1803

It is also not entirely unworthy of observation that in declaring what shall be the supreme law of the land, the constitution itself is first mentioned; and not the laws of the United States generally, but those only which shall be made in pursuance of the constitution, have that rank. (reference)

Communist Manifesto

1848

In the earlier epochs of history, we find almost everywhere a complicated arrangement of society into various orders, a manifold gradation of social rank. (reference)

Treaty of Versailles

1919

The German Government shall hand over to the Allied and Associated Powers, or to such one of them as shall so request, all persons accused of having committed an act in violation of the laws and customs of war, who are specified either by name or by the rank, office or employment which they held under the German authorities. (reference)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Top     

Use in Literature: Rank

TitleAuthorQuote

Emma

Austen, Jane

His rank in society I would alter if I could, which is saying a great deal I assure you, Emma

Sylvie and Bruno Concluded

Carroll, Lewis

He did not consider the preparations, made for the Imperial party, to be such as suited their rank.

So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish

Douglas Adams

But you don't understand, said Ford, his expression slowly ripening from a little taken abackness into rank incredulity

Scarlet Letter

Hawthorne, Nathaniel

Thus it was with the men of rank, on whom their eminent position imposed the guardianship of the public morals

Les Miserables

Hugo, Victor

The last was Guy Etienne Alexandre, who was a cavalry colonel, and held some rank in the light horse of Brittany

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Joyce, James

Thick among the tufts of rank stiff growth lay battered canisters and clots and coils of solid excrement

Gulliver's Travels

Swift, Jonathan

However, this was a peculiar grace, not allowed to any but persons of the highest rank, when they desire an admittance

Walden

Thoreau, Henry David

I like sometimes to take rank hold on life and spend my day more as the animals do.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Top     

Non-Fiction Usage: Rank

SubjectTopicQuote

Health

Reports from SAMHSA's 1995 Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), which collects data on drug-related hospital emergency room episodes and drug-related deaths from 21 metropolitan areas, rank heroin second as the most frequently mentioned drug in overall drug-related deaths. (references)

Business

The compay rose in the rank to be among the top three. (references)

The United Kingdom and France rank second with a median share of ten percent. (references)

Listed below are some key statistics of the top four of these users in rank order. (references)

Civil Liberties

Dominican Republic

The process of rounding up illegal Haitians is performed by the rank and file of the armed forces and migration officers. (references)

Burma

Government soldiers stationed in Chin State reportedly were given higher rank and pay if they induced Chin women to marry them and convert to Buddhism. (references)

Ukraine

The Law on Refugees raised the Department for Nationalities and Migration to the rank of a State Committee and transferred authority for refugee adjudication from local branches of the former Department to the Committee. (references)

Economic History

Korea

River clean-up projects rank as a top priority. (references)

Hong Kong

NOTE: This list is not in rank order nor is it comprehensive. (references)

Italy

Sectors are listed in rank order based on estimated import market size. (references)

Human Rights

India

Punishments ranged from reduction in rank to imprisonment for up to 10 years. (references)

Kyrgyz Republic

Bakhchiev had been convicted of receiving a special military rank and other offenses. (references)

Panama

Penalties include reduction in rank, dismissal, and in severe cases, criminal prosecution. (references)

Minorities

Burma

Only one non-Buddhist served in the Government at the ministerial level, and the same person, a brigadier general, is the only non-Buddhist known to have held flag rank in the armed forces since the 1990's. The Government actively discourages Muslims from entering military service, and Christian or Muslim military officers who aspire to promotion beyond the middle ranks are encouraged by their superiors to convert to Buddhism. (references)

Political Economy

Trinidad

The rank and file do not widely support radical opposition to government policies. (references)

ITALY

Public opinion polls consistently rank Italy as one of the most "pro-euro" countries in Europe. (references)

Political Rights

Swaziland

Three women serve as principal secretaries, the most senior civil service rank in the ministries. (references)

Bhutan

The King is to select nominees for cabinet office from among senior government officials holding the rank of secretary or above. (references)

Kazakhstan

At the end of the year, no women held ministerial portfolios, although one had ministerial rank and three deputy ministers are female. (references)

Trade

France

The largest French commercial banks, such as Societe Generale, Credit Lyonnais, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Groupe CIC, and HSBC Credit Commercial de France, rank among the largest banks in the world. (references)

Travel

Korea

Koreans observe a very strict hierarchical code, where Koreans will generally meet to discuss business with persons of the same, parallel rank. (references)

Vietnam

The principals will take their seats in the two chairs at the base of the 'U' with other participants arranging themselves in rank order along the sides of the 'U'. (references)

Women

Poland

Abuse of power cannot be claimed when harassment occurs between persons of equal rank. (references)

Brazil

In the workplace, it applies only in hierarchical situations, where the harasser is of greater rank or position than the victim. (references)

Marshall Islands

The inheritance of property and of traditional rank is matrilineal, with women occupying positions of importance in the traditional system. (references)

Worker Rights

Azerbaijan

It continues to operate without a vote of its rank and file workers. (references)

Guatemala

Various union leaders and rank and file members were pushed and beaten. (references)

Guatemala

During the incident, about 20 rank and file union members were held captive. (references)

Lexicography

Devil's Dictionary

EPAULET, n. An ornamented badge, serving to distinguish a military officer from the enemy -- that is to say, from the officer of lower rank to whom his death would give promotion.

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Top     

Spoken Usage: Rank

SpeakerPhrase(s)

Donald Rumsfeld

I'm not going to put them in rank order. That's not for me to do. Each of them have weapons of mass destruction. Each of them is on the terrorist list of states. Each of them has relationships with terrorist networks. Each is dangerous.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Top     

Speeches: Rank

SpeakerTermPhrase(s)

George Washington

1789-1797There is a rank due to the United States among nations which will be withheld, if not absolutely lost, by the reputation of weakness.

John Adams

1797-1801Honor is truly sacred, but holds a lower rank in the scale of moral excellence than virtue.

James Monroe

1817-1825That she may obtain that rank is the object of our most ardent wishes.

James K. Polk

1845-1849All distinctions of birth or of rank have been abolished.

John F. Kennedy

1961-1963Let every public servant know, whether his post is high or low, that a man's rank and reputation in this Administration will be determined by the size of the job he does, and not by the size of his staff, his office or his budget.

George Bush

1989-1993As just one sign of how serious we are, we will elevate the Environmental Protection Agency to Cabinet rank.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Top     

Usage Frequency: Rank

"Rank" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 87.05% of the time. "Rank" is used about 1,875 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)
Parts of SpeechPercentUsage per
100 Million Words
Rank in English
Noun (singular)87.05%1,6325,097
Lexical Verb (infinitive)10.39%19521,939
Lexical Verb (base form)1.76%3360,273
Adjective (general or positive)0.8%1590,616
                    Total100.00%1,875N/A

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

Top     

Name Usage Frequency: Rank

The following table summarizes the usage of "rank" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified.
NameUsage/GenderUsage per 100
million Persons
Rank in USA
RankLast name1,00010,855
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

Top     

Usage in Company Names: Rank

CountryName
United Kingdom

The Rank Group PLC

 (more examples...)

Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.

Top     

Expressions: Rank

Expressions using "rank": a writer of the first rank badge of rank break rank brevet rank cab rank commisioned rank flag rank Friedman's rank test for k correlated samples Galton's rank order test high rank higher rank in the front rank insignia of rank Kendall partial rank correlation Kendall rank correlation local rank lower rank military rank multivariate signed rank test order of rank person of rank promote smb. to the rank of minister raise smb. to the rank of minister rank above rank among rank and file rank as rank beginner rank below rank butter rank growth rank higher rank modus rank nonsense rank off rank order rank order statistics rank speech rank stem rank tests rank with rear rank reduction in rank rise from the rank social rank Spearman rank correlation coefficient Spearman's rank correlation coefficient take one's rank take rank with take rank with smb. taxi rank the rank and fashion to rank chronologically To take rank of. Additional references.

Hyphenated Usage

Beginning with "rank": Rank-aldis, rank-and-file, rank-and-filers, rank-defining, rank-difference correlation, rank-difference correlation coefficient, rank-financed, rank-frequency, rank-hovis-mcdougall, rank-order, rank-order correlation, rank-order correlation coefficient, rank-ordered, rank-ordering, rank-pulling, rank-size, rank-smelling, rank-specified, rank-sum, rank-test, rank-this, Rank-xerox.

Ending with "rank": cab-rank, first-rank, log-rank, second-rank, taxi-rank.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Top     

Frequency of Internet Keywords: Rank

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day
ExpressionFrequency
per Day

military rank

699

naval rank

47

search engine rank

476

law school rank

41

army rank

335

erotic rank

40

rank

294

amateur rank

38

navy rank

242

lyrics rank shabba

34

air force rank

166

police rank

34

shabba rank

127

daoc rank realm

32

marine rank

101

military rank structure

31

us army rank

93

sex tracker page rank

30

college rank

92

us air force rank

30

rank university

85

high school rank

29

rank insignia

78

cutty rank

28

certificate karate rank

71

usmc rank

26

rank me

69

rank my picture

26

rank people

67

navy officer rank

24

top rank

60

school rank

24

us navy rank

56

iq rank

23

us military rank

56

web site rank

23

military rank and insignia

54

rank of poker hands

23

marine corps rank

47

rank starfleet

22
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Top     

Modern Translation: Rank

Language Translations for "rank"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.

Afrikaans

  

tou (file, line, row, turn). (various references)

   

Albanian

  

rendis (calendar, collocate, compose, dispose, enumerate, line, Marshal, sort out), radhë (batch, consecution, cue, file, inning, innings, place, play, queue, range, row, run, series, tier, turn), radhit (align, Aline, compose, range, recapitulate, recite), rendit (calendar, collocate, compose, dispose, enumerate, line, Marshal, sort out), renditet, rresht (consecutively, file, flat out, line, line up, on end, range, row, tier, together), rreshtoj (align, Aline, array, line, line up), radhis (align, Aline, range, recapitulate), i dukshëm (apparent, appreciable, conspicuous, discernible, distinct, evidence, evident, in evidence, manifest, marked, memorable, mere, naked, notable, noticeable, observable, obvious, outward, overt, palpable, patent, perceptible, plain, pointed, prominent, salient, self-explanatory, sensible, sheer, simple, speaking, substantial, telling, thorough-paced, transparent, unconcealed, unqualified, visible), njerëzit e thjeshtë (rank and file), gradë (degree, grade, level, notch, rating, stripe, thermometer), i pagdhendur (artless, bearish, crass, Hick, hillbilly, loutish, lowlife, oafish, raffish, rough, uncouth, unhewn), evident (axiomatic, axiomatical, obvious, palpability), i harlisur (exuberant, lush, luxuriant, rampant), i jap vlerë të caktuar, i lartë (altisonant, big, considerable, elevated, eminent, exalted, first, high, high pitched, higher, lofty, overhead, paramount, pre eminent, soaring, sonorous, stalwart, towering), i mbushur me bimësi, i neveritshëm (abhorrent, abominable, accursed, accurst, beastly, contemptible, damnable, damned, despicable, detestable, disgustful, disgusting, execrable, fulsome, ghoulish, heinous, hideous, loathful, loathsome, nauseating, noisome, obnoxious, odious, putrid, repellent, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, rotten, sickening, sickly, slimy, sordid, squalid, unclean, unsavory, unsavoury), i spikatshëm (insuppressible, neat), kategori (category, class, denomination, grade, group, league, rate, run), brutal (bestial, boorish, brutal, brutish, Randy, rusty, slangy, truculent, unfinished, unhandsome, unrefined), luksoz (baronial, de luxe, exclusive, fancy, lavish, luxurious, palatial, plushy, recherche, refined, rich, Swan, swanky, swell), varg (cavalcade, chain, column, concatenation, course, file, in file, line, network, nexus, number, range, ridge, row, series, string, succession, train, variety, verse), post (office, position, post), sërë (battery, cavalcade, row), tepër pjellor, vë në radhë (range), klasifikoj (assort, categorize, classify, digest, distinguish, distribute, grade, group, label, range, rate, separate, sort, sort out, type). (various references)

   

Arabic 

  

‏ساحق (cracking, crusher, crushing, great, landslide, massive, out and out, overpowerin