rhubarb English · revision 1643

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɹuːbɑːb/ ''(UK)''; /ˈɹuˌbɑɹb/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It comes from Middle English ''rubarbe'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|fro|rubarbe]], ''reubarbe'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) [[der|la-med|reubarbarum]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) an alteration of ''rhabarbarum'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate) from Greek ''rha'' “rhubarb”^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) and ''barbaron'' “foreign”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) that is, “foreign rhubarb”.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Greek ''rha'' was associated with ''Rha'', the ancient name of the Volga;^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) the change of vowel in Medieval Latin came from Greek ''rhêon'' “rhubarb”^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995) or from association with [[rheum]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[barbarian]] and [[barbarous]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The medicinal rootstock of a plant grown in China and Tibet (about 1390, or c. 1400 in the OED).^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The drug was long imported into Europe by way of Russia.^(Etymonline) From the late 14th century the word also meant the plant itself,^(OED 1989) and by the 1640s it was applied to the European species grown for their edible leafstalks.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The ''h'' of the Greek spelling appeared occasionally from Middle English but became established only in the late 18th century.^(Etymonline)^(AHD) In 1934 ''rhubarb'' was recorded as the word actors repeat to give the impression of background conversation,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and from 1938–43 it meant, in American slang, a heated dispute, especially on a baseball field.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * about 1390 – ''rubarbe'', the medicinal root.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1640s – the European garden plant.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 18th century – the spelling with ''rh-'' established.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1934 – the word repeated by actors for crowd noise.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1938 – a heated dispute, in baseball (Etymonline, 1943 in the OED).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Any of several plants of the [[buckwheat]] family with large leaves and long, sour, green or reddish leafstalks that are eaten cooked and sweetened; also the leafstalks themselves.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The dried [[rhizome]] and roots of certain Asian species, used as a [[laxative]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(slang)'' A quarrel or heated dispute.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The sound of indistinct background conversation, made by actors repeating the word.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[barbarian]]

+ * [[barbarous]]

+ * [[rheum]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}