range

I. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English, row of persons, from Anglo-French range, renge, from renger to range Date: 14th century 1. a. (1) a series of things in a line ; row (2) a series of mountains (3) one of the north-south rows of townships in a United States public-land survey that are numbered east and west from the principal meridian of the survey b. an aggregate of individuals in one order c. a direction line 2. a cooking stove that has an oven and a flat top with burners or heating elements 3. a. a place that may be ranged over b. an open region over which animals (as livestock) may roam and feed c. the region throughout which a kind of organism or ecological community naturally lives or occurs 4. the act of ranging about 5. a. (1) the horizontal distance to which a projectile can be propelled (2) the horizontal distance between a weapon and target b. the maximum distance a vehicle or craft can travel without refueling c. (1) a place where shooting is practiced (2) driving range 6. a. the space or extent included, covered, or used ; scope b. the extent of pitch covered by a melody or lying within the capacity of a voice or instrument 7. a. a sequence, series, or scale between limits <

a wide range of patterns

> b. the limits of a series ; the distance or extent between possible extremes c. the difference between the least and greatest values of an attribute or of the variable of a frequency distribution 8. a. the set of values a function may take on b. the class of admissible values of a variable 9. line 11 Synonyms: range, gamut, compass, sweep, scope, orbit mean the extent that lies within the powers of something (as to cover or control). range is a general term indicating the extent of one's perception or the extent of powers, capacities, or possibilities <

the entire range of human experience

>. gamut suggests a graduated series running from one possible extreme to another <

a performance that ran the gamut of emotions

>. compass implies a sometimes limited extent of perception, knowledge, or activity <

your concerns lie beyond the narrow compass of this study

>. sweep suggests extent, often circular or arc-shaped, of motion or activity <

the book covers the entire sweep of criminal activity

>. scope is applicable to an area of activity, predetermined and limited, but somewhat flexible <

as time went on, the scope of the investigation widened

>. orbit suggests an often circumscribed range of activity or influence within which forces work toward accommodation <

within that restricted orbit they tried to effect social change

>. II. verb (ranged; ranging) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French renger, from renc, reng line, place, row — more at rank Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. to set in a row or in the proper order b. to place among others in a position or situation c. to assign to a category ; classify 2. a. to rove over or through b. to sail or pass along 3. to arrange (an anchor cable) on deck 4. to graze (livestock) on a range intransitive verb 1. a. to roam at large or freely b. to move over an area so as to explore it 2. to take a position 3. a. to correspond in direction or line ; align b. to extend in a particular direction 4. to have range 5. to change or differ within limits 6. of an organism to live or occur in or be native to a region