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Ripple

name, noun, verb

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A village and civil parish in Dover district, Kent, England (OS grid ref TR3450). countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    A village and civil parish in Malvern Hills district, Worcestershire, England (OS grid ref SO8737). countable, uncountable
  3. 3
    A surname. countable, uncountable
Noun
  1. 1
    A moving disturbance, or undulation, in the surface of a fluid.

    "I dropped a small stone into the pond and watched the ripples spread."

  2. 2
    An implement, with teeth like those of a comb, for removing the seeds and seed vessels from flax, broom corn, etc.
  3. 3
    thripple, cart ladder (extension for cart or wagon) dialectal, historical
  4. 4
    a small wave on the surface of a liquid wordnet
  5. 5
    One of a series of corrugations in flat surface.

    "The ebbing tide had left ripples in the sand."

Show 5 more definitions
  1. 6
    (electronics) an oscillation of small amplitude imposed on top of a steady value wordnet
  2. 7
    A sound similar to that of undulating water.
  3. 8
    A style of ice cream in which flavors have been coarsely blended together.

    "I enjoy fudge ripple ice cream, but I especially like to dig through the carton to get at the ripple part and eat only that."

  4. 9
    A small oscillation of an otherwise steady signal.
  5. 10
    A small spreading change, impact, or effect produced by a larger or more consequential action. figuratively

    "Investments in research, deployment and scaling existing technologies are the initial ripples that will have to build to a groundswell of further action."

Verb
  1. 1
    To move like the undulating surface of a body of water; to undulate. intransitive
  2. 2
    To scratch, tear, or break slightly; graze transitive

    "An horsemans javelin[…]having slightly rippled the skinne of his left arme, pierced within his short ribs."

  3. 3
    To remove the seeds from (the stalks of flax, etc.), by means of a ripple.
  4. 4
    stir up (water) so as to form ripples wordnet
  5. 5
    To propagate like a moving wave. intransitive

    "These problems were complicated by a foreign exchange crunch which rippled through the economy in 1961-1962, […]"

Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    flow in an irregular current with a bubbling noise wordnet
  2. 7
    To make a sound as of water running gently over a rough bottom, or the breaking of ripples on the shore. intransitive
  3. 8
    To shape into a series of ripples. transitive
  4. 9
    To launch or unleash in rapid succession. transitive

    "Hearns' 'Mech rippled fifteen missiles. Austen watched the missiles go in. They smashed into a copse of trees, smashing the trunks aside."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From an alteration of rimple.

Etymology 2

From an alteration of rimple.

Etymology 3

From Middle English *ripelen, repulen, equivalent to rip + -le (frequentative suffix).

Etymology 4

Compare German Low German Repel, Dutch repel, German Riffel, extended forms (with instrumental or diminutive -le) of Low German Repe (“ripple”), Dutch repe (“ripple”). Compare also Dutch repen, German reffen, Swedish repa (“to beat; ripple”). The verb is from Middle English ripplen, rypelen. Compare Low German repelen, Dutch repelen, German riffeln.

Etymology 5

Compare German Low German Repel, Dutch repel, German Riffel, extended forms (with instrumental or diminutive -le) of Low German Repe (“ripple”), Dutch repe (“ripple”). Compare also Dutch repen, German reffen, Swedish repa (“to beat; ripple”). The verb is from Middle English ripplen, rypelen. Compare Low German repelen, Dutch repelen, German riffeln.

Etymology 6

Dialectal form of thripple.

See also for "ripple"

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