An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A temperature scale in which the degree intervals are the same size as in the → Fahrenheit scale, but 0 is set at absolute zero, -459.69 °F. Therefore, 1 degree Rankine is equal to exactly 5/9 → kelvin.
It was formerly used by engineers in English-speaking countries, but is now obsolete. See also → Celsius scale,
→ Kelvin scale, → Reaumur scale.

See also: Named for the British physicist and engineer William John Rankine (1820-1872); → scale.