Etymologically
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ribbon

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈɹɪbən/[1]

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

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