ribbon

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English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
a gymnast competing in the ribbon event
actor Steve Carell wearing an awareness ribbon
The emoji for ribbon. There's an entry at 🎀

Etymology

From Middle English riban, ryban, ryband, from Old French riban, ruban ( > modern French ruban), of uncertain origin. Likely from a Germanic compound whose second element is cognate with English band. Compare Middle Dutch ringhband (“necklace”, literally “ring-band”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɹɪbən/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪbən

Noun

ribbon (countable and uncountable, plural ribbons)

  1. A long, narrow strip of material used for decoration of clothing or the hair or gift wrapping.
  2. An awareness ribbon.
    • 2018 October 1, Olivia B. Waxman, “Wearing a Pink Ribbon for Breast Cancer Awareness? Here's How Awareness Ribbons Became a Thing”, in Time‎:
      With Monday marking the beginning of October’s annual Breast Cancer Awareness Month observance, supporters will be donning their pink ribbons as a show of support for ongoing research for a cure.
  3. An inked strip of material against which type is pressed to print letters in a typewriter or printer.
    • 2018, Mark J. P. Wolf, The Routledge Companion to Media Technology and Obsolescence:
      They were single-shift, frontstroke, typebar typewriters with four-bank QWERTY keyboards, inked by a ribbon.
  4. A narrow strip or shred.
    a steel or magnesium ribbon
    sails torn to ribbons
    1. (cooking) In ice cream and similar confections, an ingredient (often chocolate, butterscotch, caramel, or fudge) added in a long narrow strip.
  5. (shipbuilding) Alternative form of ribband
  6. (nautical) A painted moulding on the side of a ship.
  7. A watchspring.
  8. A bandsaw.
  9. (slang, dated, in the plural) Reins for a horse.
    • 1887, James Inglis, Our New Zealand Cousins:
      "Here, sir, hold the ribbons." This to me, throwing me the reins. Jack got down from his perch, and after a little search in the bush was rewarded by the capture of the poor dazed pigeon, who was consigned to safe custody in the boot.
  10. (heraldry) A bearing similar to the bend, but only one eighth as wide.
  11. (spinning) A sliver.
  12. (journalism) A subheadline presented above its parent headline.
  13. (computing, graphical user interface) A toolbar that incorporates tabs and menus.

Derived terms

Descendants

  • → Japanese: リボン (ribon)
  • → Korean: 리본 (ribon)

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

See also

Verb

ribbon (third-person singular simple present ribbons, present participle ribboning, simple past and past participle ribboned)

  1. (transitive) To decorate with ribbon.
    Synonym: beribbon
  2. (transitive) To stripe or streak.

Anagrams

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