▪ I. ribbon, n.
(ˈrɪbən)
Forms: α. 6 rybben, rybbon, 7 ribbin, 7– ribbon. β. 6 rebond, 7 ribond, 6–8 ribbond.
[Later form of riban riband. In the 16th–18th c. the French form ruban was also frequent.]
I. 1. A narrow woven band of some fine material, as silk or satin, used to ornament clothing or headgear, or utilized for other purposes: a. Without article, as a material.
| α 1545 Fabric Rolls York Minster (Surtees) 136 For sylke rybben, 16s. 1572 in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 159 Rybbon for Laces. 1781 Cowper Flatting Mill 6 It appears, Like a loose heap of ribbon, a glittering show. 1810 Clark Trav. Russia (1839) 138 Half a dozen bits of ribbon strung in a line across the breast. 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 750 From her lifted hand Dangled a length of ribbon. 1901 Lady's Realm X. 616 Orange ribbon of a soft kind, and sold now under the name of giant ribbon, is laid down in Vandykes. |
| β 1527 Churchw. Acc. St. Giles, Reading (ed. Nash) 31 For rebond & silk for the reperacon of vestments. 1555 W. Watreman Fardle Facions i. v. 59 Girding them selues..with brode Ribbond of sarsenet. 1727 Pope, etc. Art of Sinking in Swift's Wks. 1751 V. 129 And knots of scarlet ribbond deck his Mane. |
b. With
a and
pl.: A piece or length of this. Also, a particular kind or make of it.
| α 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. iv. iv. 205 Hee hath Ribbons of all the colours i'th Rainebow. Ibid. 236 The bondage of certaine Ribbons and Gloues. 1650 T. B[ayley] Worcester's Apoph. 22 At the last I spide a young man, who had a ribbin in his hat. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 734 The Victim Ox,..Trim'd with white Ribbons, and with Garlands drest. 1718 Free-thinker No. 149. 325, I find Four Parchments tyed together with a Ribbon. 1758 Johnson Idler No. 16 ¶5 He had..innumerable boxes of antiquated ribbons. 1820 Scott Monast. xvi, Four suits,..every one having a treble, and appropriate change of ribbons, trimmings, and fringes. 1835 Ure Philos. Manuf. 244 A great house engaged in the trade of ribbons and broad silks. 1876 J. R. Planché Cycl. Costume I. 416 It is not till the sixteenth century that ribbons in the present sense are..heard of. |
| β a 1631 Donne Poems (1650) 264, I beg nor ribbond wrought with thine owne hands..Nor Ring. 1676 G. Etherege Man of Mode i. i, That a mans excellency should lie in Neatly tying of a Ribbond, or a Crevat! 1712 Steele Spect. No. 410 ¶1 She was dressed in a black Tabby Mantua and Petticoat, without Ribbonds. |
2. The badge of an order of knighthood; also
transf., high distinction in anything. Also
pl., prizes or decorations awarded to the winners of a competition or show; chiefly in
phr. in the ribbons, among the prize-winners. Also
fig.| 1651– [see blue ribbon]. 1725– [see red a.1 19]. 1726 Young Instalment, See, Britain, see thy Walpole shine from far, His azure ribbon, and his radiant star. 1835 Ure Philos. Manuf. 404 Grandees..may be indulged in their learned play-things, as in the ribbon and the star. 1863 Kinglake Crimea (1876) I. i. 14 Down to the giving of trinkets and ribbons he was not forgetful. 1879 London Soc. Christmas No. 64/1 There were one or two stars and ribbons. 1932 New Yorker 23 July 42/3 He [sc. a horse] went off like the stock market on Saturdays and wasn't in the ribbons. 1974 News & Press (Darlington, S. Carolina) 25 Apr. 11/1 Bobby Gurley's efforts in the 50-yd. dash and softball throw won first-place ribbons. 1977 Horse & Hound 10 June 24/2 (caption) Julia Watts on her Song of the Sea,..again in the ribbons among the hacks at the Hertfordshire Show. |
3. Her. A sub-ordinary, in width one eighth of the bend, and one half of the cost, usually borne couped. (
Cf. riband n. 2.)
| 1704 J. Harris Lex. Techn. I. s.v., Ribbon..; it is born a little cut off from the out-lines of the Escutcheon. 1722 Nisbet Her. i. xiii. 90. 1838 Penny Cycl. XII. 141/1 The Bend has four diminutives; the Bendlet, the Garter, the Cost, and the Ribbon. 1880 Encycl. Brit. XI. 695/1 The ribbon is used as a difference, and is sometimes couped or cut short, when it becomes a bâton. |
4. † a. Cant. A bell-pull.
Obs.—0| a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Pluck the Ribond,..ring the Bell at the Tavern. |
b. pl. Reins. (
Cf. riband n. 3 b.)
| 1813 Sporting Mag. XLI. 129 Their adroitness in the use of the ribbons..excited universal admiration. 1843 Le Fevre Life Trav. Phys. III. iii. iv. 124, I was surprised to see my factotum mount the box, and take the ribbons in his hand. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Col.-Reformer (1891) 187 Brandon held the ribbons, while Parklands took the box-seat. |
c. Cant. Gin, spirits.
| 1823 Egan Grose's Dict. Vulg. T., The cull lushes the blue ribbon; the silly fellow drinks common gin. 1874 Slang Dict. 269 Ribbon, gin, or other spirits. |
5. a. A long, thin, flexible strip of metal, etc.
| 1763 W. Lewis Phil. Comm. Arts 45 The ribbon [gold leaf] is divided by compasses and cut with sheers into equal pieces. 1843 Holtzapffel Turning I. 223 The twisted barrels [of muskets] are made out of long ribbons of iron wound spirally around a mandrel. 1871 B. Stewart Heat (ed. 2) §80 If a straight ribbon or bar be made of two metals. |
b. A continuous band of untwisted fibre; a sliver. (
Cf. riband n. 4 a,
quot. 1801.)
| 1842 Penny Cycl. XXII. 349/1 It is necessary..to lay the fibres or filaments parallel with each other, so as to form them into a soft continuous ribbon or cord. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 273/1 The cotton..issues a soft pure ribbon, technically called a sliver. |
c. One of the long thin strips or films into which wax is separated for bleaching after being melted and cleansed.
| 1838 T. Thomson Chem. Org. Bodies 445 To free it from these impurities, it is melted in water, and cast into thin ribbons. 1856 Orr's Circ. Sci., Pract. Chem. 460 The melted wax, running in small streams upon the revolving wet drum, is floated off..in the form of exceedingly thin strips or flakes, called ribbons. |
d. A narrow strip of anything;
= riband n. 4 a;
spec. a strip of land,
esp. a path or road.
| 1857 Dufferin Lett. High Lat. 220 A ribbon of beach not more than fifteen yards wide. 1872 O. W. Holmes Poet Breakf.-t. i, A long ribbon of bark [was] torn away. 1889 Proc. Phys. Soc. X. 181 A second plate shows four flashes [of lightning]... None of these flashes are ribbons. 1893 Stevenson Catriona 4 At the top only a ribbon of sky showed in. 1923 Times 26 May 7/4 Pedestrians should not walk in the road..but should keep to the footpaths or ribbons on the Downs specially prepared for them. 1948 ‘J. Tey’ Franchise Affair ix. 90 The London–Larborough road was a black straight ribbon in the sunshine. 1958 Spectator 6 June 721/3 The factories are in other parts of the borough, along the ribbon of Western Avenue. 1966 Guardian 10 Aug. 14/2 The consultants put great emphasis on the need for landscaping and the creation of ribbons of open spaces in and around Warrington. 1976 M. Maguire Scratchproof xii. 182 Staring out at the ribbon of road ahead. |
e. A long, narrow strip of thin impregnated fabric or coated plastic wound on a spool, used as the inking agent in a typewriter or printer (in earlier use, a similar strip used in hand-stamping devices). Also
attrib.| a 1877 Knight Dict. Mech. III. 1936/2 Ribbons for hand⁓stamps are tapes saturated with an oily pigment. 1883 J. G. Petrie Man. Type-Writer 16 For ordinary writing a black ribbon is best. Ibid., Ribbons will last a long time if they are taken care of. 1907 Yesterday's Shopping (1969) 357/2 The..Typewriter Desk..has drawers for holding Carbon, Ribbons, Stationery. 1951 A. C. Clarke Sands of Mars iv. 33, I should have warned you to use a black ribbon. Contrast isn't so good with blue. 1962 Which? Dec. 358/2 All the models had automatic ribbon reverse. 1976 N. Meyer West End Horror viii. 77 Address typewritten—on a Remington in need of a new ribbon. |
f. ellipt. = ribbon microphone (sense 9 c below).
| 1937 Printers' Ink Monthly May 40/3 Ribbon, a velocity microphone. 1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio ii. 44 The two microphones can be so placed that the only move necessary to get from one to the other is a slight turn. The ribbon will have a smooth, realistic quality. |
6. a. Anat. and
Zool. A tissue or structure having the form of a ribbon.
lingual ribbon = odontophore.
nidamental r., in certain molluscs, the string of eggs with the connecting secretion of the nidamental gland.
| 1803 Med. Jrnl. IX. 260 He perceived a kind of vascular ribbon, which he feared to divide, from an apprehension of hæmorrhage. 1851 [see nidamental 1]. 1851–6 [see lingual a. 2]. 1861 J. R. Greene Man. Anim. Kingd., Cœlent. 224 At each extremity of the ribbon the marginal and medial canals anastomose with one another. |
b. Bot. A leaf, branch, or other structure, resembling a ribbon.
| 1855 Kingsley Glaucus (1878) 63 The delicate green ribbons of the Zostera. 1882 Vines tr. Sachs' Bot. 362 Transverse divisions arise, and irregularly branched cellular ribbons are formed. |
7. pl. Torn strips of anything; tatters, shreds.
| 1820 Shelley Vision of Sea 2 The rags of the sail Are flickering in ribbons within the fierce gale. 1848 Ld. G. Bentinck in Croker Papers (1884) III. 165 He cuts Cobden to ribbons; and Cobden writhes and quails under him. 1883 Cent. Mag. XXVI. 244/1 The sails hung in ribbons from the yards. |
8. A ribband; a wale or strip of wood.
See
etym. note to
ribband.
| 1711 W. Sutherland Shipbuild. Assist. 26 Then hang up a Ribbon at the Floor Sirmark, and..nail that Ribbon, and shore it with very able Pieces of Timber. 1739 C. Labelye Short Acc. Piers Westm. Bridge 25 A Ground-Timber or Ribbon 14 Inches wide and 7 Inches thick. 1776 G. Semple Building in Water 102 Such Piles..may be cut off level, and a Ribbon run along the outside of them. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., Ribbon,..a long, thin strip of wood or a series of such strips connecting a number of parts. |
II. attrib. and
Comb. 9. In sense 1.
a. Objective or
obj. genitive, as
ribbon-maker,
ribbon-manufacturer;
ribbon-pulling,
ribbon threader,
ribbon-weaving. Also
ribbon-weaver.
| 1611 Cotgr., Rubennier, a ribbon maker, head-band maker. 1782 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 2) IX. 6711/2 On the well-ordering of these cords chiefly depends the art of ribbon-weaving. 1799 Times 1 June 2/1 The Bill for Regulating the Wages of Ribbon Manufacturers, in Coventry. 1818 Parl. Papers IX. 27 The respectful Address of the Weaver..to the Ribbon Manufacturers of the City of Coventry. 1873 Leland Egypt. Sketch Bk. 61 His tricks were of the commonest kind of old-fashioned hankypanky,..ribbon-pulling and fire-blowing. 1883 M. Blind George Eliot iii. 26 Mr. Bray was a wealthy ribbon manufacturer. 1931 Ribbon threader [see mushroom n. 3 e]. 1969 E. H. Pinto Treen 318 The ribbon threader, a round-ended, tapering rod, nearly 1 ft. long, with a large eye at the narrow end, was once a commonplace implement. 1973 M. Laski Geo. Eliot 23 Mr Pears was a ribbon manufacturer. |
b. Instrumental, as
ribbon-bound,
ribbon-marked, etc.
| 1786 Cowper Gratitude 2 This cap..With ribbon-bound tassel on high. 1871 Figure Training 124 As the pupil reaches one end of the ribbon-marked path the movement is reversed. 1897 Watts-Dunton Aylwin (1900) 74/1 The ribbon-bedizened hat which prosperous Gypsies once used to wear. |
c. Attrib. (in various uses), as
ribbon-block,
ribbon cotillon,
ribbon factory,
ribbon-front,
ribbon-knit,
ribbon-knot,
ribbon-loom,
ribbon rose,
ribbon shop,
ribbon-streamer,
ribbon work;
ribbon cartridge, (
a) a pick-up cartridge that works on the same principle as the ribbon microphone; (
b) a cartridge containing a spooled typewriter ribbon for easy and clean insertion into and removal from a typewriter;
ribbon chute = ribbon parachute below;
ribbon clerk U.S. slang (see
quot. 1953); also
fig.;
ribbon-copy U.S., the top copy of a (typed) letter or document;
ribbon microphone or (
colloq.)
mike, a microphone whose electrical output results from the motion of a thin metal ribbon mounted between the poles of a permanent magnet;
ribbon parachute, a parachute having a canopy consisting of an arrangement of closely spaced tapes.
| 1884 Pop. Sci. Monthly XXV. 111 He would sit for hours, with a board two or three feet long resting on his knees, and rub *ribbon-blocks over it in various ways. |
| 1975 G. J. King Audio Handbk. viii. 172 Instead of a coil of wire a single conductor in the form of a ‘ribbon’ may be used, the result being a *ribbon cartridge. 1977 New York Rev. Bks. 12 May 17/2 (Advt.), The Lexikon portables use Ribbon Cartridges that snap in. |
| 1946 Sun (Baltimore) 18 July 13/2 The parachute itself is of revolutionary design. Known as a ‘*ribbon chute’ it is composed of 150 individual ribbons approximately two inches wide. |
| 1927 E. Pound Let. 29 Dec. (1971) 215 Am I expected to respect either myself or anyone else because some graduated *ribbon-clerk offers me 75 bucks for writing blah in a false-pearl and undies monthly? 1953 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang (1954) §563/1 Stock Market... Ribbon clerks, lambs, amateur, small-fry traders who take occasional flings in the market. 1977 Time 11 Apr. 24/1 Flying has become so routine that the notably pragmatic insurance companies charge pilots no more for policies than they do ribbon clerks. |
| 1968 R. Lockridge Plate of Red Herrings xi. 147 Always they send us carbons... They send the *ribbon copies to book publishers. 1976 M. Millar Ask for me Tomorrow 28, I can type this letter up for you... How many copies do you need?.. You'll want to give her the ribbon copy. |
| c 1874 Ball Room Guide 84 The *Ribbon Cotillon... Each dancer selects a ribbon. When all have chosen, those which have selected the same colour dance together. |
| 1850 Thackeray Pendennis lxxvi, The enterprising head of the *ribbon factory in Clavering. |
| 1812 Sporting Mag. XXXVII. 304 *Ribbon-fronts are more in request than those of brass. |
| 1969 C. Armstrong Seven Seats to Moon xii. 109 Her hands kept busy with a *ribbon-knit costume she had been working on for weeks. 1974 Country Life 3/10 Jan. 54/2 Wool bouclé suits, ribbon knits and embroidered sweaters. |
| 1725 Ramsay Gentle Sheph. i. ii, With *ribbon-knots at his blue bonnet lug. |
| 1782 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 2) IX. Pl. cclviii, *Ribbon-Loom. 1835 Ure Philos. Manuf. 245 In our single-hand ribbon-loom, the weaver can make but a piece and a half a week. |
| 1931 Jrnl. Acoustical Soc. Amer. III. 59 The *ribbon microphone consists of a lightly corrugated metallic ribbon suspended in a magnetic field and freely accessible to air vibrating from both sides. 1944 Electronic Engin. XVI. 328/3 A simple detector for supersonics in the region of 20 kc/s can be made from an old ribbon microphone. 1975 G. J. King Audio Handbk. ix. 200 The ribbon microphone..tends to respond to the particle velocity of a sound wave. |
| 1957 Practical Wireless XXXIII. 714/2 Most *ribbon mikes have a transformer built in at the bottom of the case. |
| 1948 Jrnl. Brit. Interplanetary Soc. VII. 95 The containers were lowered successfully for the first time by *ribbon parachutes. 1956 W. A. Heflin U.S. Air Force Dict. 442/2 Ribbon parachute, a type of parachute consisting of numbers of ribbons held in place by equally-spaced tapes, with spacing between the ribbons to give the required porosity. The ribbon parachute was developed in Germany and used during WW II. |
| 1604 W. Terilo Friar Bacons Brazen-heads Prophesie lxix, And *Ribon Roses take such place, That Garden Roses want their grace. |
| 1699 M. Lister Journey to Paris 176 Many of the great *Ribban Shops remove out of the Palais hither. 1857 Geo. Eliot in Blackw. Mag. July 62/1 The Dissent..had let off half its chapel area as a ribbon-shop. |
| 1755 E. Young Centaur not Fabulous 174 Beautiful Fillies with flounc'd Trappings, *Ribbon-streamers, and braided Manes. |
| 1856 O. Jones Gram. Ornament xv. 3 Various patterns, mostly geometrical, consisting of interlaced *ribbon-work,..and strange monstrous animals and birds. 1960 H. Hayward Antique Coll. 238/2 Ribbon work, embroidery in fine, narrow silk ribbons often combined with chenille thread and aerophane. |
d. Ribbon Society, A Roman Catholic secret society or league formed in the north and northwest of Ireland early in the nineteenth century to counteract the Protestant influence, and associated with agrarian disorders. So
Ribbon association,
ribbon pass-word,
ribbon system,
ribbon work.
| 1818 in Edin. Rev. (1899) Jan. 171 A great deal of Ribbon work is carrying on at Ballycastle. 1839 Carleton Fardorougha xviii, He was accosted in the significant terms of the Ribbon pass-word of that day. 1857 Parl. Papers XXVI. 11 It can hardly be necessary to imitate the vices of the Ribbon system in order to counteract it. 1866 Chambers' Encycl. VIII. 244/2 The class of men with which the Ribbon societies were recruited. Ibid., The Ribbon association was divided, like the Orange, into lodges. |
10. a. Attrib., in sense ‘resembling a ribbon or ribbons’, ‘forming a long narrow strip or strips’, etc., as
ribbon bed,
ribbon border,
ribbon-bordering,
ribbon-borer,
ribbon coil,
ribbon conductor,
ribbon decoration,
ribbon-edge,
ribbon flash,
ribbon flame,
ribbon handle,
ribbon-isinglass,
ribbon-letter,
ribbon lightning,
ribbon map,
ribbon ornament,
ribbon pattern,
ribbon road,
ribbon saw,
ribbon-steel. Also
ribbon-back(ed),
ribbon-like,
ribbon-shaped adjs. ribbon-building = next;
ribbon development [
development 3 d], the building of houses in a single line along a main road,
usu. one leading out of a town or village; hence
ribbon-developed a.| 1920 Burlington Mag. Oct. 195/1 Thomas Chippendale is usually credited with being the originator of the *ribbon-back chair. Ibid. 196/1 Nearly all the known variations of the ribbon-back have the ball-and-claw foot in addition. 1980 Times 2 June 4/7 A set of six ribbon-back Chippendale chairs. |
| 1966 A. W. Lewis Gloss. Woodworking Terms 14 *Ribbon-backed chairs with cabriole legs are a typical feature [of the Chippendale period]. 1969 Sears Catal. Spring/Summer 26 Cardigan Sweater... Matching color buttons on a ribbon-backed border. |
| 1879 C. M. Yonge Magnum Bonum III. xxxi. 642 Cutting scarlet geraniums in the *ribbon beds. |
| 1892 Dixon's Seed Catal. 36 Specially suited for *ribbon borders. |
| 1875 M. E. Braddon Hostages to Fortune ii, Whether it went in for *ribbon-bordering and bedding-out plants, or essayed the classical. |
| 1881 Raymond Mining Gloss., *Ribbon-borer, a boring-tool consisting of a twisted flat steel blade. |
| 1928 Daily Express 27 Sept. 10/6 *Ribbon-building should be abolished. 1935 D. L. Sayers Gaudy Night xiv. 299, I was born there, and I shall be sorry if I live to see the land sold for ribbon-building. |
| 1849 Noad Electricity (ed. 3) 409 Instead of a *ribbon coil, a helix containing two thousand..yards of fine insulated wire. |
| 1896 Bedell Princ. of Transformer 306 Conductors may be made up of a number of wires in parallel, although *ribbon-conductors are preferable. |
| 1939 V. G. Childe Dawn European Civilization (ed. 3) ii. 16 Punctured *ribbon decoration and pedestalled goblets have analogies also in the Balkans. |
| 1931 A. L. Rowse Politics & Younger Generation viii. 199 New colonies of semi-detached villas, and..*ribbon-developed roads. |
| 1927 Garden Cities & Town Planning XVII. 172/2 The writers are well aware of the disadvantages of ‘*ribbon’ development. 1929 Times 19 Jan. 8/1 Your condemnation of ribbon development building along arterial roads is especially applicable to the new arterial Reigate to Dorking road. 1934 J. B. Priestley Eng. Journey x. 336 We passed through several villages that looked hardly more than slums that had been scattered along the road. This odd ribbon development is fairly common in colliery areas. 1954 M. Beresford Lost Villages viii. 275 With ribbon-development, petrol-stations and roadhouses it may find itself no longer the deserted village. 1979 J. E. Morpurgo Allen Lane iv. 138 The desert of ribbon development and light industrial estates..had been allowed to sprawl all over Middlesex. |
| 1753 Hogarth Anal. Beauty v. 68 Called by the carvers ‘the stick-and-ribbon ornament’; and, when the stick through the ribbon is omitted, it is called ‘the *ribbon-edge’. |
| 1958 Chambers's Techn. Dict. Add. 1010/1 *Ribbon-flame burner, a tubular gas-burner on which a ribbon of flame is produced by means of alternating corrugated and plain steel strips inserted in a milled slot, thus forming honeycombed flame ports, or by the tube being drilled with lines of very fine holes in close formation. 1973 Times 30 July 11/2 The cooker embodies another step forward in technology—a ribbon flame instead of the old jets, inherently more stable and less likely to blow out in a draught. |
| 1889 Proc. Phys. Soc. X. 176 Photographs of lightning have frequently been obtained showing banded, *ribbon or double flashes. |
| 1957 V. G. Childe Dawn European Civilization (ed. 6) ii. 17 The vases may be provided with..flanged *ribbon handles. 1972 Trans. Oriental Ceramic Soc. XXXVIII. 54 A grey earthenware tripod vessel, three-lobed, with a ribbon handle. |
| 1888 Goode Amer. Fishes 361, $450,000 worth of *ribbon-isinglass. |
| 1870 E. Peacock Ralf Shirlaugh III. 190 The *ribbon-letters in which they were carved. |
| 1888 Q. Jrnl. Meteor. Soc. XIV. 227 The following appear to be some of the most typical forms of Lightning flashes:—..6 *Ribbon Lightning. |
| 1808 E. Sleath Bristol Heiress V. 135 The..Derwent..poured down from the heights by *ribbon⁓like torrents. 1897 M. Kingsley W. Africa 610 The pretty, long, ribbon-like town of Victoria. |
| 1866 (title), Coloney and Fairchild's *Ribbon Map of the Father of the Waters. |
| 1941 Oxoniensia VI. 32 There were a fair number of vaulting ribs found passim at the east end of both aisles... A few ribs were found decorated with *ribbon ornament. |
| 1940 Burlington Mag. Dec. 180/2 The traditional Anglo-Saxon *Ribbon Pattern themes. 1954 M. Rickert Painting in Brit.: Middle Ages 231 Ribbon pattern, sometimes used to describe plait work or strap work; any flat ribbon-like ornament. 1956 G. Taylor Silver ii. 24 During the ninth and tenth centuries Scandinavian influence was strong..mostly characterized by asymmetrical ribbon patterns and animal forms. |
| 1929 Times 29 Aug. 13/6 (heading) Park ways and *ribbon roads. 1934 T. S. Eliot Rock i. 21 And now you live dispersed on ribbon roads, And no man knows or cares who is his neighbour. 1969 Daily Tel. 18 Jan. 9 A ribbon-road framed with cream-painted filling stations..and bright blue and white bus signs every few miles. |
| 1843 Holtzapffel Turning I. 751 The mode adopted in joining the ends of this elastic blade, or *ribbon saw. 1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 155 There are ribbon saws—endless tapes of metal working over pairs of rollers. |
| 1861 J. R. Greene in Nicholson Man. Zool. xvi. (1875) 151 A flat, *ribbon-shaped body, three or four feet in length. |
| 1875 T. Seaton Fret Cutting 67 He must now procure a bit of *ribbon-steel. |
b. Marked with bands or stripes, as
ribbon agate,
ribbon jasper (
cf. riband n. 5 c),
ribbon onyx;
ribbon figure,
grain, a striped pattern of grain seen in some quarter-sawn hardwoods (see
quots.).
| 1778 Phil. Trans. LXIX. 26 Such is the Saxon jasper, called *ribbon agate. |
| 1940 Brown & Panshin Commercial Timbers U.S. x. 242 The quarter-sawn surface of interlocked-grain wood exhibits a characteristic striped or *ribbon figure. 1964 P. Koch Wood Machining Processes ii. 16 The interlocked and alternately inclined grain, which forms a ribbon figure, presents a machining problem. |
| 1934 Archit. Rev. LXXVI. 64/3 Very handsomely figured timber is exported... Material possessing ‘ram's horn’ figure, is also met with, and ‘stripe’ or ‘*ribbon-grain’ is relatively common. 1948 New Biol. IV. 87 Mahogany is also best converted in this way [sc. by quarter-sawing], in this case to show the ‘ribbon-grain’ figure due to the inclination of the fibres to the vertical axis differing in successive growth rings; this results in differential light reflection from the boards comparable to that shown by a freshly rolled lawn. |
| 1804 Jameson Syst. Min. I. 235 The common name *ribbon jasper is not appropriate. 1867 Brande & Cox Dict. Sci., etc., Ribbon Jasper..is, in general, a result of the alteration of argillaceous strata by contact with igneous rocks. |
| 1877 W. Jones Finger-ring 383 A Roman gold finger-ring, set with an intaglio in *ribbon onyx. |
c. In names of plants, as
ribbon-fern,
-gum,
-laver,
-tree,
-wood;
ribbon (also † rib(b)and) cane, a variety of sugar cane whose mature stalks have red or purplish longitudinal stripes. Also
ribbon-grass.
| 1811 G. Mathison Notes Jamaica 65 The *riband or striped cane is no longer cultivated by judicious planters. 1833 B. Silliman Man. Sugar Cane 10 The varieties of Cane cultivated in the United States, are the Creole,..the Ribbon Cane [etc.]. 1834 Visit to Texas x. 92 The ribband cane requires to be planted every three years. 1929 L. F. Carr America Challenged 252 Some extra fine ribbon-cane molasses. 1938 M. K. Rawlings Yearling xviii. 215 The red ribbon cane had made a fair stand. 1961 F. G. Cassidy Jamaica Talk xvi. 350 Ribbon and stripe or striped cane..is still being grown. |
| 1892 Garden 27 Aug. 185 Of the *Ribbon Ferns (Pteris serrulata) there are many varieties of great beauty. |
| 1889 J. H. Maiden Useful Native Pl. 429 A variety of E[ucalyptus] amygdalina growing in the south coast district of New South Wales, goes by the name of ‘*Ribbon Gum’. |
| 1793–8 Nemnich Polyglot Lex. v. 869 *Ribbon laver, Ulva linza. |
| 1866 Treas. Bot. 981 *Ribbon-Tree, Plagianthus betulinus. |
| 1874 Ibid. Suppl. 1338/1 *Ribbon-wood of Otago, Hoheria populnea. 1898 Morris Austral Eng. 386 All species of Plagianthus and Hoheria are to the colonists Ribbonwood, especially Plagianthus betulinus..and Hoheria populnea. |
d. In names of animals, fishes, etc., as
ribbon gurnard (see
riband n. 5 c),
seal,
snake,
worm.
| 1881–2 Goode Fish. Indust. U.S. 67 Almost nothing appears to have been yet recorded respecting the habits of the *Ribbon Seal. |
| 1711 Petiver Gazophyl. vii. 69 Sir Walter Rawleigh's *Ribbond Snake. 1736 Phil. Trans. XXXIX. 256 Anguis gracilis, fuscus: the Ribbon-Snake. 1808 Ashe Trav. II. 287 The conversation..turned on the serpent tribe and we called the following at least to our recollection.., Brown Snake, Ribbon ditto. 1860 F. Mason Burmah 317 Ribbon Snake. This tree snake is grass-green all over.., excepting under the lips and throat. |
| 1855 Orr's Circle Sci., Org. Nat. II. 275 The family of Nemertidæ, or *Ribbon⁓worms. 1870 Nicholson Man. Zool. xxvi. (1875) 198 The Nemertida, or ‘Ribbon-worms’, agree in most essential respects with the Planarida. |
▪ II. ribbon, v. (
ˈrɪbən)
[f. the n.] 1. a. trans. To adorn with ribbon or ribbons; also
transf., to mark or stripe in a way resembling ribbons. Usually in
pa. pple.| 1716 Lady M. W. Montagu Lett. I. v. 15 Like a poor town lady of pleasure, painted and ribboned out in her head⁓dress. 1858 G. P. Scrope Geol. Central France (ed. 2) 16 Numerous calcareo-volcanic strata..ribboned with different colours. 1869 Blackmore Lorna Doone xlviii, I could see all the inland valleys ribbon'd with broad waters. 1885 Daily News 13 Feb. 3/1 Baskets..very much ribboned with broad white silk bows. |
b. To separate into thin narrow strips; to tear into ribbons.
| 1856 Orr's Circle Sci., Pract. Chem. 460 They are also melted and ribboned once or twice during the process. 1897 M. Kingsley W. Africa 174 Your hair being torn out and your clothes ribboned by others. |
2. intr. Of melted soap, wax, etc.: To form into ‘ribbons’. Also with
out.
3. Of a road, track, etc.: to continue in the manner of a ribbon; to stretch
out like a ribbon. Also
transf. Hence
ˈribboning vbl. n. and ppl. a.| 1926 J. B. Ames Valley of Missing Men iv. 29 The trail ribboned endlessly through a rough, hill country that seemed utterly deserted. 1926 Hutchinson's Best Story Mag. Nov. 88/2 He led it [sc. a horse] silently down to the river bank, where the great white road ribbons out eastward to the sea. 1959 Observer 30 Aug. 7/1 The same ferro-concrete and glass blocks are going up in Zürich and in New Delhi, accompanied..by the same ribboning-out of metropolis into suburbia. 1968 R. V. Beste Repeat Instructions xix. 197 The Bestyet Fish Saloon was frying and a queue of customers ribboned out through the door on to the pavement. 1969 ‘J. Morris’ Fever Grass xxi. 185 The road ribboned in three lazy twists. 1976 H. Tracy Death in Reserve xxi. 168 He drove back..looking at the ribboning road with unblinking bright eyes. |