Rib

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɹɪb/

Definitions

1. A curved bone found in the chest of animals that provides protection for vital organs
2. A curved bone forming the rib cage which shields internal organs ; a long narrow support or raised line on an object or structure that adds strength or decoration
3. One of the curved bones attached to the spine protecting the thoracic cavity ; an elongated thin ridge or strip used to provide structural support or ornamentation

Etymology: The bone that shields your heart and lungs shares its name with the sail-stiffening rods of a ship and the arched ridges of a Gothic ceiling, and the connection runs back through an old Germanic word for a curved, protective structure. English "rib" descends from Old English "ribb," and the same word appears across the Germanic languages: Dutch "rib," German "Rippe," and Old Norse "rif," which meant both "rib" and "reef," a ridge of rock rising from the sea. The shared image is a raised curved line, which explains why the same word covers a ridge of stone in the water, a strip of wood bracing a wing, and a bone in the chest. The word also carries one of the Bible's most famous images. In the account of Eve's creation in Genesis, God forms the first woman from one of Adam's ribs, and English has used "rib" as an affectionate term for a wife or woman ever since, a usage recorded in the sense "wife or woman."

Synonyms: bone, costal bone