rancor

English

Alternative forms

• rancour (Commonwealth spelling)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin ranceō

Proto-Indo-European *-os

Proto-Indo-European *-s

Proto-Indo-European *-ōs

Proto-Italic *-ōs

Latin -or

Latin rancor

Old French rancorbor.

Middle English rancour

English rancor

First attested in the 13th century as Middle English rancour, from Old French rancor, from Latin rancor (“rancidity, grudge, rancor”), from ranceō (“to be rotten or putrid”), from which also English rancid.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɹæ̞ŋkə/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American, without æ-raising) IPA^(key): /ˈɹæ̝ŋkɚ/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

    • (æ-raising) IPA^(key): /ˈɹeɪ̯ŋkɚ/, /ˈɹɛ̃ŋkɚ/
• Rhymes: -æŋkə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: ran‧cor
• Homophone: ranker

Noun

rancor (countable and uncountable, plural rancors) (American spelling)

1. A feeling of long-lasting ire for another, sometimes to the point of hatred, over a perceived wrongdoing; bitterness.

   Synonyms: bitterness, resentment, spite, animus, grudge, enmity

   I could almost see the rancor in his eyes when he challenged me to a fight.

2. (rare) Rancidity, rankness.

Derived terms

• rancorless
• rancorous
• rancorously
• rancorousness

Related terms

• rancid

Translations

the deepest malignity or spite

• Arabic: حِقْد (ḥiqd)
• Armenian: քեն (hy) (kʻen)
• Asturian: rancor m
• Bulgarian: омраза (bg) f (omraza), злоба (bg) n (zloba), ненавист (bg) f (nenavist)
• Catalan: rancúnia f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 怨恨 (zh) (yuànhèn), 仇恨 (zh) (chóuhèn), 敵意 / 敌意 (zh) (díyì)

• Czech: zášť (cs), nevraživost, nenávist (cs)
• Dutch: rancune (nl), wrok (nl)
• Finnish: kauna (fi), katkeruus (fi), viha (fi)
• French: rancune (fr) f, rancœur (fr) f, rancœurs (fr) f pl
• Galician: rancor (gl) m, xenreira (gl) f
• German: Groll (de) m
• Hebrew: איבה (he) f (eyvá)
• Hungarian: rosszakarat (hu), gyűlölet (hu)
• Irish: aicis f
• Italian: rancore (it) m
• Māori: kaikino, hūneinei, hūngeingei
• Occitan: rancura (oc) f
• Polish: uraza (pl) f, żal (pl) m
• Portuguese: rancor (pt) m
• Romanian: ranchiună (ro) f, pică (ro) f, rancoare f
• Russian: злопа́мятство (ru) n (zlopámjatstvo), затаённая не́нависть f (zatajónnaja nénavistʹ)
• Spanish: rencor (es) m, rancor (es) m, rencura (es) f, rancura (es) f
• Turkish: hiddet (tr), öfke (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: كین (kin), غرض (garaz)

See also

• malice

Verb

rancor (third-person singular simple present rancors, present participle rancoring, simple past and past participle rancored)

1. (archaic) To rankle or fester.

References

• “rancor”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Cranor, Carron, Corran

Asturian

Alternative forms

• rincor (Parres, Tox)

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ranˈkoɾ/ [raŋˈkoɾ]
• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: ran‧cor

Noun

rancor m (plural rancores)

1. rancor (the deepest malignity or spite)

Further reading

• García Arias, Xosé Lluis (2002–2004), “rancor”, in Diccionario general de la lengua asturiana [General Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (overall work in Spanish), Editorial Prensa Asturiana, →ISBN
• “rancor”, in Diccionariu de la llingua asturiana [Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Asturian), 1st edition, Academy of the Asturian Language [Asturian: Academia de la Llingua Asturiana], 2000, →ISBN

Galician

Alternative forms

• rencor

Etymology

Attested since the 15th century. From Old Galician-Portuguese (compare Old Galicia-Portuguese rancura, 13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria), from Latin rancor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /raŋˈkoɾ/ [rɑŋˈkoɾ]
• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Hyphenation: ran‧cor

Noun

rancor m (plural rancores)

1. rancor; grudge
   • 1446, M. González Garcés, editor, Historia de La Coruña. Edad Media, A Coruña: Caixa Galicia, page 635:

     estauan en moytas cartas de scomoion et testemoyos et eran en grande descordia et anduan en odios et rancores

     they were in many excommunicaton charters and litigations and they were in large discord and hate and rancor

   • 1612, Pedro Vázquez de Neira, "Soneto", in Gómez Tónel, Exequias:

     aquel rancor que te carcome e laña

     that rancor that eats away and cracks through you

   Synonym: xenreira

References

• “rancor”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026
• “rancor”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2026
• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “rancura”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “rancor”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Santamarina, editor (2006–2013), “rancor”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Santamarina, Ernesto X. González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “rancor”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “rancor”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Latin

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin ranceō

Proto-Indo-European *-os

Proto-Indo-European *-s

Proto-Indo-European *-ōs

Proto-Italic *-ōs

Latin -or

Latin rancor

From ranceō (“to be rotten, putrid”) + -or (“-ness”, abstract noun suffix).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈraŋ.kɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈraŋ.kor]

Noun

rancor m (genitive rancōris); third declension (Late Latin)

1. rancidity, stench, rankness
2. grudge, rancor

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	rancor	rancōrēs
genitive	rancōris	rancōrum
dative	rancōrī	rancōribus
accusative	rancōrem	rancōrēs
ablative	rancōre	rancōribus
vocative	rancor	rancōrēs

Descendants

• Aragonese: rancor
• Asturian: rancor
• Catalan: rancor
• Galician: rancor
• Italian: rancore
• Occitan: rancur
• Old French: rancor, rancure
  • → Dutch: rankeur
  • → English: rancor, rancour
  • French: rancœur, rancune
• Portuguese: rancor
• Romanian: râncoare
• Spanish: rencor

References

• “rancor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• "rancor", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• rancor in Ramminger, Johann (16 July 2016 (last accessed)), Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[1], pre-publication website, 2005-2016

Middle English

Noun

rancor

1. alternative form of rancour

Old French

Alternative forms

• rancour
• rancueur

Etymology

From Latin rancor.

Noun

rancor oblique singular, f (oblique plural rancors, nominative singular rancor, nominative plural rancors)

1. ill-will; negative opinion or intention

Descendants

• English: rancor, rancour
• French: rancœur

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin ranceō

Proto-Indo-European *-os

Proto-Indo-European *-s

Proto-Indo-European *-ōs

Proto-Italic *-ōs

Latin -or

Latin rancōrembor.

Portuguese rancor

Borrowed from Latin rancōrem (“rancor; putridity”).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʁɐ̃ˈkoʁ/ [hɐ̃ˈkoh]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʁɐ̃ˈkoʁ/ [hɐ̃ˈkoh]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /ʁɐ̃ˈkoɾ/ [hɐ̃ˈkoɾ]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ʁɐ̃ˈkoʁ/ [χɐ̃ˈkoχ]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /ʁɐ̃ˈkoɻ/ [hɐ̃ˈkoɻ]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʁɐ̃ˈkoɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʁɐ̃ˈkoɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʁɐ̃ˈko.ɾi/

• Audio (Brazil (Caipira)):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ran‧cor

Noun

rancor m (plural rancores)

1. (usually uncountable) rancor; grudge (deep seated animosity)

   Synonyms: odiosidade, ressentimento

   Ainda guardamos rancor pelo que fizeram conosco.

   We still hold a grudge for what you did to us.

Related terms

• rancorejar
• rancorosamente
• rancoroso

Further reading

• “rancor”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “rancor”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Noun

rancor m (plural rancores)

1. archaic form of rencor

Further reading

• “rancor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025