ransaken

== Middle English == === Alternative forms === ransake, raunsake, rensake ransakyn (East Anglia); ronsak, ronsake (West Midland) === Etymology === Borrowed 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- (“lonesome; quiet; to rest”)) + 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”)). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈranˌsaːkən/, /ˈranˌsakən/, (West Midland) /ˈrɔn-/ === Verb === ransaken (third-person singular simple present ransaketh, present participle ransakende, ransakynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle ransaked) (ambitransitive) To look through or search through (someone or something): (transitive) To ransack or plunder; to search in order to steal from. (transitive, figurative) To examine (someone or something) carefully; to investigate. (transitive) To look for or seek out; to attempt to find (an object, person, or quality) (transitive, rare) To steal, purloin, or loot (an object). (transitive, rare) To treat (a person) roughly or violently; to mistreat. ==== Descendants ==== English: ransack === References ===