English
ransack
Ransack comes from Middle English ransaken ‘to examine, investigate’, from Old Norse rannsaka ‘to search a house’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁- ‘to rest’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁reh₁-‘to rest’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*razną‘dwelling, house’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350rannsaka‘to search a house’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ransaken‘to examine, investigate’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1522ransack
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁reh₁-‘to rest’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*razną‘dwelling, house’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350rannsaka‘to search a house’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ransaken‘to examine, investigate’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1522ransack
Earliest quotation: c. 1522, Thomas More, Memorare Nouissima: “If they thought howe ſoone in what painefull plight…”
The story
The verb is derived from Middle English ransaken (‘to examine, investigate; to rob, plunder, steal; to search, seek; to treat roughly, mistreat’), from Old Norse rannsaka (‘to search a house (especially for stolen goods)’), from rann (‘house’) (from Proto-Germanic *razną (‘dwelling, house’), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁- (‘to rest; quiet’)) + saka, an ablaut variant of sœkja, sǿkja (‘to look for, search, seek’) (from Proto-Germanic *sōkijaną (‘to look for, seek’), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g- (‘to follow; to seek out, trace’)). Verb senses 1.2 (‘to search (someone, or a place) thoroughly in order to steal something’), 1.3 (‘to search for and steal (something) as plunder’), and 2.2 (‘to search for and steal things’) are probably influenced by sack (‘to pillage, to plunder’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁- ‘to rest’
rest, row, rare, rudder, roo, rother, 5 more
through Proto-Germanic *razną ‘dwelling, house’
through Middle English ransaken ‘to examine, investigate’
Today it means
verb To search (a place, through things, etc.) thoroughly, especially when vigorous and leaving behind a state of disarray.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁- / ransack