Other forms: rants
A rant is a long angry outburst of complaint. Go on a rant, a furious rant, listen to the rant.
It is disproportionate by definition, which is why calling something a rant dismisses it whatever its content. It works as a verb, and rant and rave is the fixed pair. The word came from Dutch and first meant to talk nonsense.
1nounrantA long angry outburst of complaint.
“My dad went on a long rant about the price of petrol.”
rant is an outburst.
Dutch ranten means to talk nonsense or rave, of unknown further origin.
Middle Dutch
ranten — to rant, babble, goof around
Dutch
ranten
English, today
rant
Built from
From Dutch ranten, randen (“to talk nonsense, rave”), from Middle Dutch ranten (“to rant, babble, goof around”), of unknown origin; but apparently related to Middle High German ranzen (“to dance, jump around, frolic”), German ranzen (“to be ardent, be in heat, copulate, mate, ramble, join up”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA