I. ˈrib 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
[
ribs 1a
]
II. transitive verb
( ribbed ; rib·bing )
Date: circa 1547
1. : to furnish or enclose with ribs
2. : to knit so as to form vertical ridges in
• rib·ber noun
III. noun
Etymology: rib (IV)
Date: 1929
1. : joke
2. : parody
IV. transitive verb
( ribbed ; rib·bing )
Etymology: probably from rib (I); from the tickling of the ribs to cause laughter
Date: 1930
: to poke fun at : kid
• rib·ber noun