# Do we know when and why a kitchen cooking stove come to be called a "range"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 21, 2012, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-know-when-and-why-a-kitchen-cooking-stove-come-to-be-called-a-range/622662 "2012-05-21T22:47:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-know-when-and-why-a-kitchen-cooking-stove-come-to-be-called-a-range/622662/1 "2012-05-21T22:47:20Z")
I’ve an etymology question. Do we know when and why a kitchen cooking stove come to be called a “range”? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-know-when-and-why-a-kitchen-cooking-stove-come-to-be-called-a-range/622662/2 "2012-05-21T22:56:59Z")
Seems to be a reference to being able to hold a range of sizes of pots (i.e., more than one), and the term is used in [Leviticus 11:35](http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Lev&c=11), King James version, so it’s not particularly new. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-know-when-and-why-a-kitchen-cooking-stove-come-to-be-called-a-range/622662/3 "2012-05-21T23:12:42Z")
> [@OED](#): > > a. Originally: a fireplace, grate, or simple apparatus used for cooking. Now: spec. a large cooking stove, having hotplates on the top and one or more ovens, all of which are kept continuously hot; (also, chiefly N. Amer.) any gas or electric cooker incorporating burners or heating elements and one or more ovens. First cite was in 1423, before the Bible. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-know-when-and-why-a-kitchen-cooking-stove-come-to-be-called-a-range/622662/4 "2012-05-22T04:18:33Z")
Wow. “Before the Bible” is not a concept I’d ever considered before. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-know-when-and-why-a-kitchen-cooking-stove-come-to-be-called-a-range/622662/5 "2012-05-22T13:03:05Z")
> **[Online Etymology Dictionary](https://www.etymonline.com/)** > > The online etymology dictionary (etymonline) is the internet's go-to source for quick and reliable accounts of the origin and history of English words, phrases, and idioms. > [@](#): > > range (n.) > c.1200, “row or line of persons” (especially hunters or soldiers), from [O.Fr](http://O.Fr). range “range, rank,” from rangier “to place in a row, arrange,” from reng “row, line” (see rank (n.)). Meaning “row of mountains” is from 1705. Meaning “scope, extent” first recorded 1660s; that of “area over which animals seek food” is from 1620s, from the verb. Specific U.S. sense of “series of townships six miles in width” is from 1785. Sense of “distance a gun can send a bullet” is recorded from 1590s; meaning “place used for shooting practice” is from 1862. The cooking appliance so called since mid-15c., for unknown reasons. Although origin is unknown it wouldn’t surprise me if there were a connection to the sense of arranging a row of pots. And of course the Bible was written in English instead of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek and words can always be translated one-to-one with exactness. “Before the Bible” makes sense in any language. Was a language invented for it to be written in? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-know-when-and-why-a-kitchen-cooking-stove-come-to-be-called-a-range/622662/6 "2012-05-22T13:29:52Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Was a language invented for it to be written in? :dubious: Tongues. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-know-when-and-why-a-kitchen-cooking-stove-come-to-be-called-a-range/622662/7 "2012-05-22T14:01:06Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Tongues. Tongues are intelligently designed. d&r ---
**Author:** ![charmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/53a042/32.png) [@charmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/charmstr)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-know-when-and-why-a-kitchen-cooking-stove-come-to-be-called-a-range/622662/8 "2012-05-22T16:02:42Z")
RealityChuck’s OED quote is really interesting to me, particularly the part that reads: > [@](#): > > spec. a large cooking stove, having hotplates on the top and one or more ovens, all of which are kept continuously hot Does anyone besides [AGA](http://www.aga-ranges.com/_store/scripts/catlist.asp?idcat=26) still make this sort of cooker?[SUP]1[/SUP] “Range” makes particular sense when talking about one of these cookers. Each hotplate is a different set temperature as is each of the ovens. That makes for a _range_ of choices for the cook. Interestingly, the cookers AGA makes that meet this definition are referred to simply as cookers. They do sell [AGA “ranges”](http://www.aga-ranges.com/_store/scripts/catlist.asp?idcat=26) as well, but these look and act much more like what we in the U.S. think of as a range. [SUP]1[/SUP] Apparently there is also [Rayburn](http://www.rayburn-web.co.uk/what-is-a-rayburn.aspx) but they appear to be connected to AGA. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-know-when-and-why-a-kitchen-cooking-stove-come-to-be-called-a-range/622662/9 "2012-05-23T01:16:09Z")
> [@charmstr](#): > > Interestingly, the cookers AGA makes that meet this definition are referred to simply as cookers. They do sell [AGA “ranges”](http://www.aga-ranges.com/_store/scripts/catlist.asp?idcat=26) as well, but these look and act much more like what we in the U.S. think of as a range. That company is British and I believe they (still) refer to it as a cooker rather than a ‘range’. Heard it called this on Python, AbFab etc… ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-know-when-and-why-a-kitchen-cooking-stove-come-to-be-called-a-range/622662/10 "2012-05-23T02:08:26Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > That company is British and I believe they (still) refer to it as a cooker rather than a ‘range’. Heard it called this on Python, AbFab etc… My friends who grew up in Ireland refer to their range as a cooker, as well. When they told me they were going to the store to buy a “new cooker”, I was picturing a slow cooker (i.e., a Crock Pot). I quickly realized that I was mistaken. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-know-when-and-why-a-kitchen-cooking-stove-come-to-be-called-a-range/622662/11 "2012-05-23T10:51:32Z")
So what’s an Irish/British[cooker](http://www.furnishedhomes.org/cart/images/ELEC%20COOKER.jpg) called in the US? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-know-when-and-why-a-kitchen-cooking-stove-come-to-be-called-a-range/622662/12 "2012-05-23T11:31:47Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > So what’s an Irish/British[cooker](http://www.furnishedhomes.org/cart/images/ELEC%20COOKER.jpg) called in the US? Oven/stove/range. When I hear cooker, I [think of this.](http://www.google.com/search?q=crockpot&hl=en&safe=off&client=safari&tbo=d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&ei=XMq8T6nVCISA2wXk2Lz3Dg&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&ved=0CF4Q_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=644) ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-know-when-and-why-a-kitchen-cooking-stove-come-to-be-called-a-range/622662/13 "2012-05-23T11:59:17Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > So what’s an Irish/British[cooker](http://www.furnishedhomes.org/cart/images/ELEC%20COOKER.jpg) called in the US? A stove or a range. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-know-when-and-why-a-kitchen-cooking-stove-come-to-be-called-a-range/622662/14 "2012-05-23T12:30:46Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Oven/stove/range. > > When I hear cooker, I [think of this.](http://www.google.com/search?q=crockpot&hl=en&safe=off&client=safari&tbo=d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&ei=XMq8T6nVCISA2wXk2Lz3Dg&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&ved=0CF4Q_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=644) Ah right. That meaning of cooker is preserved in pressure cooker here. ---
**Author:** ![Slade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Slade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slade)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-know-when-and-why-a-kitchen-cooking-stove-come-to-be-called-a-range/622662/15 "2012-05-23T14:41:53Z")
_“First cite was in 1423, before the Bible.”_ Before the King James version, yes, but the first English translation of all dates back to 1382. Presumably these Wycliffe Bibles (as they’re called) used a different word when translating that Leviticus passage, or the OED would have mentioned it. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-know-when-and-why-a-kitchen-cooking-stove-come-to-be-called-a-range/622662/16 "2012-05-23T15:40:45Z")
I think he just meant “before _that_ Bible”. Either that, or I’m being whooshed by someone. I’m sure others are wondering, so here is what I found for Wycliffe Bible on the same verse. > [@](#): > > 35 and what euer thing of siche deed bodies bi hem silf felde theronne, it schal be vnclene, whether furneisis, ethir vessels of thre feet, tho schulen be destried, and schulen be vnclene. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-know-when-and-why-a-kitchen-cooking-stove-come-to-be-called-a-range/622662/17 "2012-05-23T16:59:39Z")
> [@charmstr](#): > > “Range” makes particular sense when talking about one of these cookers. Each hotplate is a different set temperature as is each of the ovens. That makes for a _range_ of choices for the cook. I think it’s much simpler than this. It’s multiple cooking surfaces spread out in regular intervals, like soldiers in formation on a battlefield.