ration

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noun

That which is allotted: allocation, allotment, allowance, dole, lot, measure, part, portion, quantum, quota, share, split. Informal cut. Slang divvy. See collect/distribute.

verb

To give out in portions or shares. deal (out), dispense, distribute, divide, dole out, parcel out, portion (out), share. Slang divvy. See collect/distribute.

n

Definition: allotment of supply
Antonyms: whole

v

Definition: divide something into portions
Antonyms: collect, gather

A daily allowance of food and drink provided for military personnel. The provision of food is essential for any military campaign, the more so as military activity is physically strenuous and takes place in the cold and open air. Without sufficient rations the performance and morale of any military unit will be adversely affected—soldiers will have less energy to march and fight, and more reason to become depressed and querulous. This much is obvious. The points at issue, throughout history, have been what should rations consist of, and how should they be delivered to the troops for whom they have been collected.

Rations have been a part of military existence for as long as records have been kept. Even when an army has travelled through a fertile region and elected to ‘live off the land’, this has been viewed as a temporary state. When Sherman's army cut its supply lines and embarked upon the March to the Sea in 1864, living off the land, it was on the understanding that ships laden with rations would be awaiting them at Savannah. Moreover, for an army to make such a march exceptional circumstances must first be in place. Not only must the region being traversed be fertile, it must be relatively unguarded by any sizeable enemy force. Foraging for food requires manpower, and entails dissipating the mass of the armed force—a dangerous act should an enemy army be in the vicinity.

The composition of rations alters from country to country according to the benefits to the consumer, availability, durability, and the ease with which the foodstuffs may be carried and moved. Food that can be moved over significant distances, or carried in a knapsack for several days, may not always taste as good as fresh fruit or vegetables, but sustenance and nutrition invariably take precedence over taste when an army is on campaign. Nevertheless, a soldier must eat a reasonably balanced diet in order to avoid fatigue, and the diseases which can run rampant through the camps of undernourished troops.

Rations have always been dependent upon the ability of the authorities to supply them. Extensive rail networks, and then airdrops, have made the supply of food more rapid in the past century, but for thousands of years before these developments troops were dependent upon what could be dragged behind the army in wagons, supplemented by what the troops could forage from the regions they were passing through. The armies of ancient Greece serve as a good example in this regard. Lazenby has suggested that, ‘depending on circumstances Greek troops would evidently eat almost anything’. Various meats and bread baked from wheat or barley seems to have formed the basis of their diet, to which would be added any fruit or vegetables the foragers could acquire. Such foods were sometimes bought directly from merchants as the troops passed through town, on other occasions they might be simply picked from the trees or pulled from the ground. Fish and dairy products appear to have filled a comparatively small part of the diet for the ancient Greek armies. The former could, of course, only be eaten when caught, and to catch enough fish to supply the army through regular channels simply could not work. Fish would, therefore, only be eaten when the men could find the time to catch and cook them. Cheese and dairy products tend to receive little mention, and were simply unknown or unpopular. In addition, both fish and dairy products have a comparatively short ‘shelf life’, and would spoil very quickly in warm climates.

The limited availability and durability of certain products have determined that they would be seldom used by military organizations particularly when a force is required to move over any significant distance. Thus, while the arrival of rail networks sped the movement of supplies from bases to the front in the 19th century, dietary staples remained similar to those consumed by the ancient Greeks: the American civil war was the first war in which food supply was significantly aided by rail network, yet the food delivered to the Federal troops who fought far to the south of their home states was not markedly different from that eaten by the Greeks. Throughout most of war the federal soldier could expect to receive a daily ration of 12 oz (340 g) of pork or bacon, or 1 lb 4 oz (567 g) of beef. Bread was also a constant in his diet. During the winter months troops could expect soft bread (usually 1 lb 6 oz (624 g) ) from ovens set up near camp; while on campaign hard bread, a biscuit-like substance which soldiers had to soak in coffee to make edible, was more common. ‘Hardtack’, as the soldiers called this, represented the zenith of comestible durability and the nadir of taste. But it is clear that bread and meat continued to be the basic staples in the late 19th century as much as they had done hitherto. For men undertaking arduous physical work, carbohydrates—bread, potatoes, and biscuits—are crucial. Fats keep out the cold, but protein, though desirable, can wait.

In the 20th century the advent of air transport and greater nutritional information have brought still greater speed to the delivery of food to the troops, and highlighted the importance of a balanced diet for military personnel. The variety of food has consequently increased. Food packaging has also improved. Meat was preserved in tins in the Napoleonic period and known as bœuf bouilli, the origin of the English description of corned beef as ‘bully beef’. By the end of the 19th century tinned and desiccated rations were widely available, and durability remains a key factor in determining the composition of rations. Rather than any fundamental change in the components involved, the most important development in recent times has been the incorporation of vitamins and drugs into daily consumption. Vitamins can provide an important and portable supplement for troops on a rapid march or when detached from their logistical support. The potential for the use of drugs in warfare—for example, in sleep management—has also come to the fore in recent years, and may soon make up a key component of any basic ration.

Rations have always been crucial to the performance of military personnel, and the search for the ideal combination of durability, portability, and nutritional value will continue.

Bibliography

• Lazenby, J. F., ‘Logistics in Classical Greek Warfare’, War In History, 1/1 (Mar. 1994).
• Offer, Avner, The First World War: An Agrarian Interpretation (Oxford, 1989).
• Wiley, Bell I., The Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union (Baton Rouge, La., 1986)

— Andrew Haughton

n. 1. a fixed amount of a commodity officially allowed to each person during a time of shortage, as in wartime: 1918 saw the bread ration reduced on two occasions.

2. (usually rations) an amount of food supplied on a regular basis, especially to members of the armed forces during a war.

3. (rations) food; provisions: their emergency rations ran out.

v. (usually be rationed)

allow each person to have only a fixed amount of (a particular commodity): shoes were rationed from 1943.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

noun
noun, derog, military

to come up with (or be given) the rations To be awarded a service or other medal not earned in combat. (1925 —) .
J. Braine Lampton had no decorations apart from those which all servicemen who served his length of time were given, as they say, with the rations (1957).

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A fixed allowance of total feed for an animal for one day. Usually specifies the individual ingredients and their amounts and the amounts of the specific nutriments such as carbohydrate, fiber, individual minerals and vitamins. See also blended rations, creep ration, cut-and-fit ration balancing.

• r. analysis — chemical analysis to determine the proportions of principal nutrients in the feed; no tests of digestibility are included.
• balanced r. — a ration which has been balanced so that it contains appropriate proportions of the principal nutritional components, that is carbohydrates, protein, fat, minerals and vitamins, for the specific class, including especially age and lactational status, of livestock for which the ration is formulated.
• complete r. — all of the constituents of a ration fed to a confined animal are mixed together and fed at the one time. It does not require supplementation other than drinking water.
• r. formulation — the recipe; list and amounts of feed ingredients to be included in a ration.
• total mixed r. — see complete ration (above).

For a list of words related to rations, see:

• Food in General - rations: supply of food, esp. for soldiers

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See words rhyming with "ration."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Ration.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - ration, del, tildeling, forsyning
v. tr. - rationere

idioms:

• ration out    rationere, uddele

Nederlands (Dutch)
rantsoen, portie, (mv) proviand, rantsoeneren

Français (French)
n. - ration, (fig) compte (des problèmes), dose (de) (TV, musique)
v. tr. - rationner, limiter la ration de (qn)

idioms:

• ration out    partager (qch) en rations

Deutsch (German)
n. - Ration
v. - rationieren

idioms:

• ration out    zuteilen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - μερίδα (φαγητού κ.λπ.), μερίδα "δελτίου", (πληθ.) (στρατ.) σιτηρέσιο, τροφή
v. - εφοδιάζω, διανέμω (τρόφιμα κ.λπ.) με δελτίο, περιορίζω, επιβάλλω μερίδες, βάζω δελτίο σε κάτι

idioms:

• ration out    μοιράζω (σε μερίδες)

Italiano (Italian)
razione

idioms:

• ration out    razionare

Português (Portuguese)
n. - rateio (m)
v. - ratear

idioms:

• ration out    racionamento (m)

Русский (Russian)
рацион, паек

idioms:

• ration out    распределять

Español (Spanish)
n. - ración, porción
v. tr. - poner a ración

idioms:

• ration out    racionar

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - ranson
v. - ransonera

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
配给量, 定量, 口粮, 给养, 一份配给品, 配给供应, 定量供应, 对...实行限量供应

idioms:

• ration out    按定量配给

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 配給量, 定量, 口糧, 給養, 一份配給品
v. tr. - 配給供應, 定量供應, 對...實行限量供應

idioms:

• ration out    按定量配給

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 일정량, 배급량, 식량, 하루분의 양식
v. tr. - 배급하다, 급식하다

idioms:

• ration out    급식하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 配給量, 割り当て, 配給品
v. - 配給する, への支給を制限する

idioms:

• ration out    配給する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) طعام, مؤن, حصه (فعل) يوزع بعدل, يقتصد في‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מנה, קיצבה, ברבים: אספקה‬
v. tr. - ‮הקציב, הטיל פיקוח, הנהיג קיצוב‬

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