Etymology From Middle English rand, from Old English rand (“edge, border, margin, rim, shore”), from Proto-West Germanic *rand, from Proto-Germanic *randaz, *randō (“edge, rim, crust”), from Proto-Indo-European *rem- (“to rest, prop or support oneself”). Cognate with Dutch rand (“edge, border, outskirts, rim”), German Rand (“edge, border, margin, rim, outskirts”), Swedish rand (“rand, stripe, edge, verge”). Related to rind.
1
The border of an area of land, now especially marshland.
at the wald's rand; the rand of the marsh
Outside the rand or steep edge of this dome the bog is permanently ringed around by a zone liable to base-rich flooding, and this zone, the lagg, carries a persistent fen or carr vegetation.1963, Field Studies [Council of Great Britain], volume 1, page 132
2 more examples
Lagg (1) Marginal zone outside the rand containing fen vegetation and representing the transition between raised bog peat and mineral soils.1984, Herman W. Gabriel, Glossary of Landscape & Vegetation Ecology for Alaska, page 64, entry "lagg":
[…] the rands, especially near the Teifi river, are very steep.2013, Peter D. Moore, European Mires, page 288:
2
Dialectal, Obsolete A strip of meat; a long fleshy piece of beef, cut from the flank or leg; a sort of steak.
They came with chopping-knives / To cut me into rands and sirloins1621 (first performance), John Fletcher, “The Wild-Goose Chase; a Comedy”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1679, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
3
UK, Dialectal, Rare A border, edge or rim; a strip, as of cloth.
They quarrelled an' fought 'mang the clippin's an' rands, / The tailor insistin' the colour was blue.1867, Anderson, Rhymes, page 44
4
A strip of leather used to fit the heels of a shoe.
[…] I ſmelt out my noble ſtincker Greenſheild in his Chamber, and as tho my heart ſtringes had bin crackt, I vvept, & thumpd, and thumpd, and rau'd and randed, and raild, and told him hovv my vvife vvas novv grovvne as common as baibery, and that ſhee had hierd her Taylor to ride vvith her to VVare, to meete a Gentleman of the Court.c. 1601 (date written), Thomas Decker [i.e., Thomas Dekker]; Iohn Webster [i.e., John Webster], North-ward Hoe. […], London: […] G[eorge] Eld, published 1607, →OCLC, Act IV, signatures F, verso – F2, recto:
rand
noun
Etymology Named after Witwatersrand; the last element is Afrikaans rand (“ridge”), from Dutch rand, from Old Saxon rand, from Germanic *randaz. Compare Etymology 1, and Rand. The sense of currency is because of gold that was extracted from the Witwatersrand rocks.
1
A rocky slope, especially the area over a river valley; specifically, the Rand
2
The currency of South Africa, divided into 100 cents.