Where does “ribs” come from?

Ribs comes from Old English ribb, from Proto-West Germanic ribi, from Proto-Germanic ribjō, from Proto-Indo-European h₁rebʰ-, a root of uncertain meaning referring to a body part.

ribs (English): plural of rib; Third-person singular simple...

Definitions

  1. plural of rib; Third-person singular simple...

Ancestry of “ribs”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishribAny of a series of long curved bones occurring in...
2Middle Englishrib—
3Old Englishribbrib
4Proto-West Germanicribb—
5Proto-Germanicribjąrib; reef, ridge
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁rebʰ-to cover, to roof; rib

Words derived from “ribs”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁rebʰ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic ribją →Every word from Proto-West Germanic ribb →