Rang

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ɹæŋ/

Definitions

1. To have emitted a sound that resonates clearly, often from a bell or alarm
2. To produce a clear, resonant sound, often loud and distinct, typically from a metal object or voice
3. To emit a resonant tone or signal that captures attention or marks an event, such as from a bell or telephone

Etymology: The past tense of "ring" is "rang," and it is the verb's own past form rather than a separate word, so its history is really the history of "ring." Its entry into English came from French: the source records "rang" as borrowed from French, the same language that supplied many of the sound-making verbs English adopted in the medieval period. Its meaning, a clear resonant sound, traces back to the bells and chimes the word once described before it spread to telephones and other noises. Because "rang" is the simple past of a common verb, it is not a separate loanword in the everyday sense, and the borrowing note in the source is best read as describing how the form reached English rather than a dated first use. The verb it belongs to is the more interesting story, and it carries the same sense of a clear, carrying sound.

Synonyms: sounded, pealed