Adjacent Words

Rib definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RIB, n. [L. costa, signifies side, border, extremity.]
1. A bone of animal bodies which forms a part of the frame of the thorax. The ribs in the human body are twelve on each side, proceeding from the spine to the sternum, or towards it, and serving to inclose and protect the heart and lungs.
2. In ship building, a piece of timber which forms or strengthens the side of a ship.
Ribs of a parrel, are short pieces of plank, having holes through which are reeved the two parts of the parrel-rope.
3. In botany, the continuation of the petiole along the middle of a leaf, and from which the veins take their rise.
4. In cloth, a prominent line or rising, like a rib.
5. Something long, thin and narrow; a strip.
RIB, v.t.
1. To furnish with ribs. In manufactures, to form with rising lines and channels; as, to rib cloth; whence we say, ribbed cloth.
2. To inclose with ribs.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: support resembling the rib of an animal
2: any of the 12 pairs of curved arches of bone extending from the spine to or toward the sternum in humans (and similar bones in most vertebrates) [syn: rib, costa]
3: cut of meat including one or more ribs
4: a teasing remark
5: a riblike supporting or strengthening part of an animal or plant
6: a projecting molding on the underside of a vault or ceiling; may be ornamental or structural v
1: form vertical ribs by knitting; "A ribbed sweater"
2: subject to laughter or ridicule; "The satirists ridiculed the plans for a new opera house"; "The students poked fun at the inexperienced teacher"; "His former students roasted the professor at his 60th birthday" [syn: ridicule, roast, guy, blackguard, laugh at, jest at, rib, make fun, poke fun]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English ribb; akin to Old High German rippi rib, Old Church Slavic rebro, and probably to Greek erephein to roof over Date: before 12th century 1. a. any of the paired curved bony or partly cartilaginous rods that stiffen the walls of the body of most vertebrates and protect the viscera b. (1) a cut of meat including a rib — see beef illustration (2) a boneless cut of meat (as beef or pork) from a rib section c. [from the account of Eve's creation from Adam's rib in Genesis
2:21-22] wife 2. something resembling a rib in shape or function: as a. (1) a traverse member of the frame of a ship that runs from keel to deck (2) a light fore-and-aft member in an airplane's wing b. one of the stiff strips supporting an umbrella's fabric c. one of the arches in Romanesque and Gothic vaulting meeting and crossing one another and dividing the whole vaulted space into triangles 3. an elongated ridge: as a. (1) a vein of an insect's wing (2) one of the primary veins of a leaf b. one of the ridges in a knitted or woven fabric II. transitive verb (ribbed; ribbing) Date: circa 1547 1. to furnish or enclose with ribs 2. to knit so as to form vertical ridges in • ribber noun III. noun Etymology: ⁴rib Date: 1929 1. joke 2. parody IV. transitive verb (ribbed; ribbing) Etymology: probably from ¹rib; from the tickling of the ribs to cause laughter Date: 1930 to poke fun at ; kid • ribber noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 each of the curved bones articulated in pairs to the spine and protecting the thoracic cavity and its organs. 2 a joint of meat from this part of an animal. 3 a ridge or long raised piece often of stronger or thicker material across a surface or through a structure serving to support or strengthen it. 4 any of a ship's transverse curved timbers forming the framework of the hull. 5 Knitting a combination of plain and purl stitches producing a ribbed somewhat elastic fabric. 6 each of the hinged rods supporting the fabric of an umbrella. 7 a vein of a leaf or an insect's wing. 8 Aeron. a structural member in an aerofoil. --v.tr. (ribbed, ribbing) 1 provide with ribs; act as the ribs of. 2 colloq. make fun of; tease. 3 mark with ridges. 4 plough with spaces between the furrows. Derivatives: ribless adj. Etymology: OE rib, ribb f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rib Rib, n. [AS. rib, ribb; akin to D. rib, G. rippe, OHG. rippa, rippi, Dan. ribbe, Icel. rif, Russ. rebro.] 1. (Anat.) One of the curved bones attached to the vertebral column and supporting the lateral walls of the thorax. Note: In man there are twelve ribs on each side, of which the upper seven are directly connected with the sternum by cartilages, and are called sternal, or true, ribs. The remaining five pairs are called asternal, or false, ribs, and of these each of the three upper pairs is attached to the cartilage of the rib above, while the two lower pairs are free at the ventral ends, and are called floating ribs. See Thorax. 2. That which resembles a rib in form or use. Specifically: (a) (Shipbuilding) One of the timbers, or bars of iron or steel, that branch outward and upward from the keel, to support the skin or planking, and give shape and strength to the vessel. (b) (Mach. & Structures) A ridge, fin, or wing, as on a plate, cylinder, beam, etc., to strengthen or stiffen it. (c) One of the rods on which the cover of an umbrella is extended. (d) A prominent line or ridge, as in cloth. (e) A longitudinal strip of metal uniting the barrels of a double-barreled gun. 3. (Bot.) The chief nerve, or one of the chief nerves, of a leaf. (b) Any longitudinal ridge in a plant. 4. (Arch.) (a) In Gothic vaulting, one of the primary members of the vault. These are strong arches, meeting and crossing one another, dividing the whole space into triangles, which are then filled by vaulted construction of lighter material. Hence, an imitation of one of these in wood, plaster, or the like. (b) A projecting mold, or group of moldings, forming with others a pattern, as on a ceiling, ornamental door, or the like. 5. (Mining) (a) Solid coal on the side of a gallery; solid ore in a vein. (b) An elongated pillar of ore or coal left as a support. --Raymond. 6. A wife; -- in allusion to Eve, as made out of Adam's rib. [Familiar & Sportive] How many have we known whose heads have been broken with their own rib. --Bp. Hall. Chuck rib, a cut of beef immediately in front of the middle rib. See Chuck. Fore ribs, a cut of beef immediately in front of the sirloin. Middle rib, a cut of beef between the chuck rib and the fore ribs. Rib grass. (Bot.) Same as Ribwort.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rib Rib, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ribbed; p. pr. & vb. n. Ribbing.] 1. To furnish with ribs; to form with rising lines and channels; as, to rib cloth. 2. To inclose, as with ribs, and protect; to shut in.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(ribs, ribbing, ribbed) 1. Your ribs are the 12 pairs of curved bones that surround your chest. Her heart was thumping against her ribs... N-COUNT 2. A rib of meat such as beef or pork is a piece that has been cut to include one of the animal's ribs. ...a rib of beef. N-COUNT: usu N of n, n N 3. If you rib someone about something, you tease them about it in a friendly way. (INFORMAL) The guys in my local pub used to rib me about drinking 'girly' drinks. = tease VERB: V n 4. see also ribbed, ribbing

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

(tsela`, tsal`ah; Aramaic `ala`): The Hebrew words designate the "side," "flank," thence the "ribs." They are found thus translated only in connection with the creation of Eve: "He (Yahweh) took one of his (Adam's) ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof: and the rib, which Yahweh God had taken from the man, made he (margin "builded he into") a woman" (Ge 2:21,22). The Aramaic word is only found in Da 7:5.

Twice the Revised Version (British and American) uses the word "rib" in a figurative sense of two beams or rafters built in to the ark of the covenant and the altar of incense, on which the golden rings were fastened, which served to carry ark and altar by means of staves (Ex 30:4; 37:27).

A curious mistranslation has crept into the King James Version, which here follows Jewish commentators or etymologists, in four passages in 2 Samuel (2:23; 3:27; 4:6; 20:10), where the "fifth rib" is mentioned as the place of the body under which spears or swords are thrust, so as to cause lethal wounds. The Hebrew word chomesh, which indeed means "fifth," is here a noun, derived from a root meaning "to be staunch," "stalwart," "stout" "fleshy," "obese" (compare chamush, "armed," "equipped soldier"; Arabic el khamis (el chamis), "the army," which, however, Arabic lexicographers explain as meaning "fivefold," namely, vanguard, right and left wing, center and rear guard). The word is to be translated "abdomen," "belly." the Revised Version (British and American) renders correctly "into the body."

H. L. E. Luering

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

A wife: an allusion to our common mother Eve, made out of Adam's rib. A crooked rib: a cross-grained wife.

Moby Thesaurus

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