ransack
Part of speech: verb
noun
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: 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”).
The noun is derived from the verb.
cognates
* Middle Low German rānsāken, rantsāken
* Old Danish randsage, ransage (modern Danish ransage)
* Old Swedish ransaka (modern Swedish rannsaka)
Inflected forms:
form: ransacks
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: ransacking
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: ransacked
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: ransacked
pos: verb
tags: past
form: no-table-tags
pos: verb
tags: table-tags
form: glossary
pos: verb
tags: inflection-template
form: ransack
pos: verb
tags: infinitive
form: ransack
pos: verb
tags: first-person
present
singular
form: ransacked
pos: verb
tags: first-person
past
singular
form: ransack
pos: verb
tags: present
second-person
singular
form: ransackest
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
second-person
singular
form: ransacked
pos: verb
tags: past
second-person
singular
form: ransackedst
pos: verb
tags: archaic
past
second-person
singular
form: ransacks
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: ransacketh
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
singular
third-person
form: ransacked
pos: verb
tags: past
singular
third-person
form: ransack
pos: verb
tags: plural
present
form: ransacked
pos: verb
tags: past
plural
form: ransack
pos: verb
tags: present
subjunctive
form: ransacked
pos: verb
tags: past
subjunctive
form: ransack
pos: verb
tags: imperative
present
form: -
pos: verb
tags: imperative
past
form: ransacking
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: ransacked
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: ransacks
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: To search (a place, through things, etc.) thoroughly, especially when vigorous and leaving behind a state of disarray.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: What a ſorowe hath it been to ſome of vs when the deuils hath in deſpightfull mockage, caſt in our teeth our olde loue borne to our money, and then ſhewed vs our executours as buſily ryfling ⁊ ranſaking our houſes as though they wer men of warre that had taken a towne by force.
He hath ranſaked all the chyſtes I haue for his beades: […]
She [a hen] scratches, ransacks up the earth for food, / Which they [chicks] partake at pleasure.
gloss: To search (someone or a place) thoroughly in order to steal something, especially when vigorous and leaving behind a state of disarray; hence, to rob (someone or a place); to plunder.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: to ransack a house for valuables
If they thought howe ſoone in what painefull plight they ſhall lye a dying, while theyr executours afore their face ranſake vp theyr ſackes, they woulde I wene ſhortly empty theyr ſackes themſelues.
In Troy there lyes the Scene: From Iles of Greece / The Princes Orgillous, their high blood chaf'd / Haue to the Port of Athens ſent their ſhippes / […] their vovv is made / To ranſacke Troy, vvithin vvhoſe ſtrong emures / The rauiſh'd Helen, Menelaus Queene, / VVith vvanton Paris ſleepes, and that's the Quarrell.
VVhy, raiſing Tumults thus among the Just, / Offer'ſt thou Violence to my ſacred Duſt? / VVhy ranſackeſt my Grave? and ſummon'ſt me / From my Long Home, Seat of Eternitie?
Here Aguirre took up his lodging, and here he kept his men ready for battle, till the night came on, […] then he permitted them to ransack the town.
You ransacked my hotel, captured my staff with that strange vacuum of yours … And to top it all off, you catnapped my sweetie, my little darling … My precious Polterkitty!
gloss: To search for and steal (something) as plunder.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: VVith greedy force he gan the fort aſſayle, / VVhereof he vveend poſſeſſe ſoone to bee, / And vvin rich ſpoile of ranſackt chaſtitee.
gloss: To examine (someone or something) carefully; to investigate; also, to question (someone) thoroughly; to interrogate.
pos: verb
tags: archaic
figuratively
transitive
examples: […] I purpoſe not in any open engliſh booke to ranſake and rebuke eyther the tone [the one] lawe, or the tother: I ſhall let him with that matter alone.
And like an angry Judge reſolved to condemn, thou ranſackeſt all my life, and paſſeſt an heavie ſentence upon me for ſinnes long ſince committed,[…].
Conſider next, his [God's] Infinite, All-ſearching Knovvledge, vvhich looks through and through the moſt ſecret of our Thoughts, ranſacks every corner of the Heart, ponders the moſt invvard deſigns and ends of the Soul in all a man's Actions.
[A]lthough thou beeſt blameleſs and unſpotted as to thy outvvard Life and Converſation, ſo that none can ſay, black is thine Eye, as to any groſs Sin; yet knovv, that God pondereth thy Heart, and ranſacketh every Corner of thy Soul, and obſerves the Motions of thoſe very Luſts that vvar vvithin thee, and prevail againſt thee.
For Arts like theſe preferr'd, admir'd, careſt, / They firſt invade your Table, then your Breaſt; / Explore your Secrets vvith inſidious Art, / VVatch the vveak Hour, and ranſack all the Heart; […]
The Reader may, novv, plainly ſee, that I am ranſacking my Memory, for ſuch remaining Scraps of Theatrical Hiſtory, as may not, perhaps, be vvorth his Notice: […]
She ransacked her conscience,—which was full of harmless little matters, like her pocket or her work-bag,—and took herself to task, poor thing, for a thousand imaginary faults; […]
In astronomy, the fields of the sky have not yet, indeed, been ransacked by the most costly instruments; […]
Dreams do not materialize in flesh and blood before a man! He ransacked his memory for a clew to that haunting familiarity. He tried to make himself believe it was just a crazy, senseless notion. But it persisted; he could not shake it off.
gloss: To look for or seek out (someone).
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
transitive
examples: I'le call ye to Accompt, and if ye bauke me, then / I ranſake ye out, and make ye underſtand / The ſharp-nail'd language of Quiſquilla's hand.
gloss: To search (someone) for a thing.
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
transitive
gloss: Synonym of penetrate (“to make way into the interior of (something); to pierce”); also, synonym of pervade (“to enter and spread through (something); to permeate”).
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
obsolete
transitive
examples: [D]epe wͭ dynt the ſword enforced furſt / had ranſakt through his ribs ⁊ ſwete whyte breſt at once had burſt.
[H]e vvas forſt at laſt, / To yield himſelfe vnto the mightie ill: / VVhich as a victour proud, gan ranſack faſt / His invvard partes, and all his entrayles vvaſt, […]
gloss: To search thoroughly, especially when leaving behind a state of disarray.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: Then euery chriſtian ſought amongſt vs for his frende, / His kinſman or companion ſome ſuccour them to lende: / And as they ranſackte ſo, lo God his will it was, / A noble wyſe Venetian by me did chaunce to paſſe: […]
[W]e rive / Our Mother Earth; and, not contented vvith / Th' abundant gifts ſhe outvvard offereth, / VVith ſacrilegious Tools vve rudely rend her, / And ranſak deeply in her boſom tender, / VVhile vnder ground vvee live in hourly fear / VVhen the frail Mines ſhall over-vvhelm vs there: […]
gloss: To search for and steal things.
pos: verb
tags: archaic
intransitive
gloss: Synonym of ransacking (“an act of ransacking (“searching thoroughly (in order to steal); etc.”) someone or something; an eager search”).
pos: noun
examples: And euermore their vvicked Capitayn / Prouoked them the breaches to aſſay, / Somtimes vvith threats, ſomtimes vvith hope of gayn, / VVhich by the ranſack of that peece they ſhould attayn.
VVhat ſecret corner? VVhat unvvonted vvay / Has ſcap'd the ranſack of my rambling thoughts?
A soldier in the general ransack found a jar of olives which this man had buried, and in which he had concealed some pieces of gold; […]
[H]e is decided in his belief that the signet was an emerald, and as precious for the work of the artist as its own intrinsic value. Perhaps this stone also will turn up in the ransack of the sultan's treasury.
"There are no official papers here," he said, after another short ransack; "there must have been some if this desk is the one. Have you dared to delude me by showing the wrong desk?"
Synonyms: ramshack
ransackle
ranshackle
Derived words: ramshack
ransacked
ransacker
ransacking
ransackle
ranshackle
unransacked
Translations:
lang: Bulgarian
word: претърсвам
roman: pretǎrsvam
lang: Bulgarian
word: претършувам
roman: pretǎršuvam
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 洗劫
roman: xǐjié
lang: Danish
word: ransage
lang: Finnish
word: koluta
lang: Finnish
word: penkoa
lang: French
word: fouiller
lang: German
word: durchwühlen
lang: Hungarian
word: felforgat
lang: Irish
word: tiomsaigh
lang: Italian
word: rovistare
lang: Latin
word: pervēnor
lang: Polish
word: przeszukiwać
lang: Polish
word: przeszukać
lang: Polish
word: przetrząsać
lang: Polish
word: przetrząsnąć
lang: Scottish Gaelic
word: rannsaich
lang: Spanish
word: escudriñar
lang: Spanish
word: esculcar
lang: Spanish
word: escurcar
lang: Spanish
word: revolver
lang: Swedish
word: rannsaka
lang: Tagalog
word: halungkat
lang: Tagalog
word: halughog