Etymograph

English

ranch

Ranch comes from Spanish rancho ‘small farm, group of farm huts’.

  1. Spanishc. 1500–presentrancho1‘small farm, group of farm huts’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1899ranch1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English ranch
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1899, Stephen Crane: “There was some laughter, and Roddle was left free…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Spanishc. 1500–presentranchoWiktionary, English ranch‘small farm, group of farm huts’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1899ranchWiktionary, English ranch. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1899, Stephen Crane: “There was some laughter, and Roddle was left free…”

The story

Recorded since 1808, farm sense since 1831.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Spanish rancho

Today it means

noun A large plot of land used for raising cattle, sheep or other livestock.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ranch”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Spanish rancho / ranch

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