Etymologically
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rip

Etymology and origin of the English word rip

History Permalink
Confidence
Uncertain
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1400

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɹɪp/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English rippen, of uncertain origin,[2][3][4] probably from a North Sea Germanic word: compare Flemish rippen (“to strip off roughly”), Frisian rippe, to tear, and Middle Dutch reppen (“to rip, pull”),[5][4][6] or else from a Scandinavian source such as Swedish reppa.[4] Etymonline traces these to a Proto-Germanic *rupjan-, from PIE *reup-, to snatch.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To cut, pull out or tear away vigorously: before 1400 in Barnhart,[5] about 1400 in Etymonline, at first of pulling out stitches.[4]

Semantic evolution

The OED, quoted by Etymonline, doubts that all the senses belong to the same word.[4] To slash with a sharp instrument is from the 1570s,[4] and to move with slashing force from 1798, as in the American let her rip (by 1846).[4] The noun, a tear, is from 1711, in Addison's Spectator.[5][4] A stretch of rough water where currents meet is American from 1775, perhaps a special use of the same word;[5][4] the riptide is from 1862 and the rip current from 1936.[5][4] Rip off, to steal or cheat, is American from about 1967, from earlier prison slang rip, to steal (1904), and the noun rip-off is from 1970.[5][4] The rip cord is from 1906.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1400 – to tear away.[5][4]
  • 1570s – to slash.[4]
  • 1711 – a tear.[5]
  • 1775 – rough water.[5][4]
  • 1862 – riptide.[5]
  • c. 1967 – rip off.[5]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To tear or be torn quickly or violently.
  2. To remove roughly or hastily, often with off or out.
  3. To saw wood along the grain.
  4. (informal) To move fast or violently.
  5. rip off (slang): to steal from or cheat.
  6. To copy audio or video from a disc to a computer.

Noun

  1. A long tear or cut.
  2. A stretch of rough water caused by meeting currents; a riptide.

Word family

  • ripper
  • rippable
  • unrip
  • ripcord
  • ripstop
  • riptide
  • rip-roaring
  • ripsaw
  • rip-off
  • rip cord

Usage notes

Another rip, a worthless horse or a dissolute person, is perhaps an alteration of rep, short for reprobate (18th century).[2][3][6] R.I.P., on gravestones, is an abbreviation of Latin requiescat in pace, may he or she rest in peace.[7]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Rip.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/rip. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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