ribbon

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English riban,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Anglo-Norman ribane and Middle French riban, a variant of Old French ruban,^[5][6][4] of uncertain origin.^[5][4] It may come from a Germanic compound whose second part is related to band,^[6][4][3] compare Middle Dutch ringhband (“necklace”);^[6] the OED suggests the first part matches ring, comparing Dutch ringband (“dog's collar”),^[5] and Merriam-Webster likewise links it to Old English hring (“ring”).^[7] The OED notes that riban may be the older form even though ruban is recorded first.^[5] In English the word was also written riband, with a d that is not part of the original,^[3][8] and ribbon is formally a variant of that spelling.^[5][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

A strip or band of cloth: c. 1325, as riban (Barnhart)^[4]; the OED dates riband to 1325.^[5] Etymonline says that at first the word meant a stripe in a material.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The sense of a narrow band of fine fabric such as silk or satin, used to trim or tie, appears in the 1510s and 1520s;^[6][5] the OED's first example spelled with o in the second syllable is from 1518.^[5] Etymonline dates the modern spelling to the mid-16th century,^[6] while Barnhart dates rybben to 1545 and the spelling ribbon to Shakespeare's Winter's Tale (1611).^[4] From 1651 a ribbon of a particular colour marked an honour, and later a prize.^[5] The word spread to other long, thin strips: a road or strip of land (1656), metal (1763), the inked strip of a typewriter (1841 in the OED, by 1883 in Etymonline), and anything torn to shreds.^[5][6] In slang ribbon meant gin (1811) and, in the plural, the reins of a coach (1813).^[10][5] Coloured ribbon loops worn to show support for a cause began, according to Etymonline, with the red ribbons of AIDS campaigners in 1991.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1325 – riban, a strip or band of cloth.^[4]
• 1518 – a narrow band of fine fabric, with the spelling ribbon.^[5]
• 1651 – a ribbon worn as a sign of an honour.^[5]
• 1656 – a long narrow strip, as of a road; also the verb, to adorn with ribbons.^[5]
• 1763 – a thin strip of metal.^[5]
• 1813 – ribbons, reins.^[5][10]
• 1841 – an inked strip in a printing or typewriting machine.^[5]
• 1991 – coloured ribbons worn to show support for a cause.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A narrow strip of fine fabric, such as silk or satin, used for decoration or for tying things: a parcel tied with green ribbon.
2. A ribbon of a particular colour or pattern worn to show that one holds a medal or honour, or awarded as a prize.
3. A long narrow strip of something: a ribbon of road along the coast.
4. An inked strip of fabric or plastic used in a typewriter or printer.
5. ribbons (plural): ragged strips or shreds, especially in torn to ribbons.
6. ribbons (plural, archaic): the reins of a horse.

Verb

1. To decorate or tie something with ribbon.
2. To tear something into strips or shreds.
3. To extend in a long thin band, like a road across a landscape.

Word family

• ribbony
• ribbonlike
• ribbonfish
• ribbon grass
• blue ribbon
• red ribbon
• ribbon microphone
• ribbon snake

Related words

• riband
• band
• ring

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
3. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
9. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com