Where does “ribbing” come from?

Ribbing comes from Middle English -ing and Old English -ing, derived from Old English -ung, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₁rebʰ-, meaning to scratch or scrape.

ribbing (English): present participle of rib; The action of the verb...

Definitions

  1. present participle of rib; The action of the verb...

Ancestry of “ribbing”, step by step

ribbing traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English RIB

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishRIBRigid inflatable boat — A lightweight inflatable...
2Middle Englishrib—
3Old Englishribbrib
4Proto-West Germanicribb—
5Proto-Germanicribjąrib; reef, ridge
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁rebʰ-to cover, to roof; rib

via Norwegian Bokmål ribbe

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Norwegian Bokmålribbea rib bone, especially from a slaughtered animal
2Middle Low Germanribberib, strip
3Old Saxonribbi—

Words derived from “ribbing”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁rebʰ- →