ring

English has two words spelled ring: a circle, from Old English hring, and “to sound like a bell”, from Old English hringan.^[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /rɪŋ/^[4]

ring¹ circle

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English ring, inherited from Old English hring (“circlet of metal; ring; part of a mail coat”),^[5][1] from Proto-Germanic *hringaz (“something curved, circle”),^[5][1] the source also of Old Frisian and Old Saxon hring, Dutch ring, German Ring and Old Norse hringr.^[5][1][3] Possible cognates outside Germanic are Old Church Slavonic krǫgŭ “circle” and Umbrian krenkatrum “belt”,^[1][2] from Proto-Indo-European *krengh-,^[1] which Etymonline gives as a nasalized form of Proto-Indo-European *sker- (“to turn, bend”).^[5] It is related to rank.^[6][7] The verb, “to put a ring on”, is from the noun.^[1][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A circular band: about 725, in Beowulf.^[1] A finger ring of precious metal is in the OED from about 950.^[8]

Semantic evolution

Old English also used it of a circular group and of the horizon.^[5][1] In Anglo-Saxon times a gold ring was a sign of wealth and status;^[7] as a token of marriage or betrothal it is by about 1200.^[5] The space for a prize fight, from the circle of bystanders round the fighters, is from the early 14th century,^[5] and the ring, “boxing”, by 1770.^[5] Ringleader (1503) is from lead the ring, “to lead the dance”.^[1] A number of things in a circle is by the 1580s,^[5] a fairy ring from the 1620s, and the growth rings of trees from the 1670s.^[5] A group of people combining for a purpose, first commercial or political, is from 1829.^[5] The verb meant “to put a ring on” before 1387^[1] and “to encircle” before 1500.^[1][5]

Timeline

• c. 725 – a ring.^[1]
• c. 1200 – a token of marriage.^[5]
• early 14th century – a ring for fighting.^[5]
• before 1387 – verb, to put a ring on.^[1]
• before 1500 – verb, to encircle.^[1]
• 1503 – ringleader.^[1]
• 1770 – the ring, boxing.^[5]
• 1829 – a group of conspirators.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A small circular band, usually of precious metal, worn on the finger.
2. A circular object, shape or arrangement with an empty centre.
3. An enclosed area for a contest or show, as in boxing or a circus.
4. A group of people acting together, especially secretly or illegally.
5. (chemistry) A closed chain of atoms.

Verb

1. To surround; to encircle.
2. To put a ring on or in, as on a bird's leg.

Word family

• ringlet
• ringleader
• ringside
• ringworm
• earring
• ring finger

ring² sound

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English ringen, inherited from Old English hringan (“to cause a bell to sound”),^[5][1] from Proto-Germanic *khrengan,^[5] the source also of Old Norse hringja, Swedish ringa and Dutch ringen, and related to Old Norse hrang “noise, din”.^[5][1][2] It is probably imitative.^[5][6] Outside Germanic, Lithuanian krañkti “to croak” and Tocharian B kraṅko “cock” have been compared.^[1][2] Originally a weak verb, it took the strong forms rang, rung in early Middle English, after verbs such as sing.^[5] The noun is from the verb.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

About 725, in Beowulf.^[1] Middle English ringen is from about 1131.^[1]

Semantic evolution

The intransitive sense, “to give a resonant sound when struck”, is by about 1200;^[5] of places, “to resound”, about 1300,^[5] and of the ears, “to hum”, by the late 14th century.^[5] Of coins, sounding true when struck, it is by about 1600, and to ring hollow from the 1610s.^[5] The noun meant a set of church bells from 1549, and an act of ringing from 1727.^[1] Ring down or up a theatre curtain, from the bell that signalled it, is by 1772.^[5] “To telephone”, with up, is by 1880, and of a telephone sounding by 1924;^[5] ring up a sale on a cash register is by 1937.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 725 – to make a bell sound.^[1]
• c. 1200 – to sound when struck.^[5]
• 1549 – noun, a peal of bells.^[1]
• c. 1600 – to ring true.^[5]
• 1772 – ring down the curtain.^[5]
• 1880 – to telephone.^[5]
• 1937 – ring up a sale.^[5]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To make a clear resonant sound, as a bell.
2. To cause a bell to sound; to signal by a bell.
3. To be filled with sound; to resound.
4. Of the ears, to hear a humming sound.
5. (chiefly British) To telephone.
6. To give a particular impression: it rings true.

Noun

1. The sound of a bell, or a similar sound.
2. A telephone call: give me a ring.
3. A suggestion of a quality: a ring of truth.

Word family

• ringer
• ringtone
• ring up
• dead ringer

Related words

• rank
• harangue
• range

Usage notes

The circle verb has past ringed, the sound verb rang and rung.^[4] In Scots ring also meant “to reign”.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
2. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)