ricochet English · revision 1642

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɹɪk.ə.ʃeɪ/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|ricochet|t=the skipping of a shot or a flat stone on water]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) of uncertain origin.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) In its earliest French use (15th century) the word appears only in phrases such as ''fable du ricochet'', a tale in which the teller skilfully evades questions, and ''chanson du ricochet'', a repetitive song.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Etymonline and the OED date the verb, in the military sense of subjecting a place to ricochet fire, to 1758;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) the noun, a way of firing projectiles so that they skip along a surface, is from 1769.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The intransitive verb, of a projectile glancing or skipping off a surface, is recorded from 1828,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) and it is now the usual sense.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1758 – verb, to subject to ricochet fire.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1769 – noun, ricochet firing.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1828 – verb, to rebound or skip.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To rebound one or more times from a surface, as a [[bullet]] or a stone skipping on water.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act or an instance of ricocheting; a glancing [[rebound]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An object that ricochets.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[rebound]]

+ * [[carom]]

+ * [[scud]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Random House lists ''rebound'', ''deflect'' and ''glance'' as synonyms of the verb.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}