rope English · revision 10255

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=gem-pro *raipaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɹəʊp/ ''(UK)''; /ɹoʊp/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English rope, rop, [[inh|ang|rāp|t=strong, heavy cord]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Proto-Germanic *raipaz, of unknown origin,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) source also of Old Norse reip, Dutch reep, Old High German reif, hoop (German [[m|de|Reif|t=ring, hoop]]), Old Frisian silrāp, shoe-thong, and Gothic skaudaraip, shoe-lace.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A length of strong cordage: about 725, one of the oldest recorded English words.^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Figurative use is from about 1000.^(OED 1989) A tightrope is from 1620,^(OED 1989) the ropes of a boxing ring from 1829,^(OED 1989) and a clothes-line from 1833.^(OED 1989) Strictly, rope is cordage between one and ten inches round, a thicker one being a cable.^(Etymonline) The verb, to bind with a rope, is from the early 14th century,^(Etymonline) to mark off with rope from 1738,^(Etymonline) and ''to rope in'', to secure someone for a purpose, by 1848.^(Etymonline) ''To know the ropes'', at first a seaman's term, is from 1840,^(Etymonline) ''on the ropes'', about to be beaten, from 1924, from boxing,^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) and ''at the end of one's rope'' by the 1680s,^(Etymonline) as is ''give someone enough rope to hang himself''.^(Etymonline) Many 16th-century slang expressions linked rope with hanging, such as ''rope-ripe'', deserving to be hanged.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – a rope.^(OED 1989)

+ * early 14th century – to bind (verb).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1620 – a tightrope.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1680s – at the end of one's rope.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1829 – the ropes of a ring.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1840 – to know the ropes.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1924 – on the ropes.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A thick, strong [[cord]] of twisted fibres or wire.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A row of things strung or twisted together: ''a rope of pearls''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A cord with a noose for [[hanging]], or execution by hanging.^(AHD)

+ # ''(the ropes)'' The way things are done: ''to know the ropes''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To tie or fasten with a rope.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To enclose or mark off with a rope.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To catch with a rope; to [[lasso]].^(AHD)

+ # ''(rope in)'' To persuade or trick someone into taking part.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[roper]]

+ * [[ropelike]]

+ * [[ropable]]

+ * [[ropeable]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stirrup]]

+ * [[lasso]]

+ * [[cord]]

+ * [[cable]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Somerset dialect, rope was recorded as a word for a dwarf.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}