ripple

See also: Ripple

English

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈɹɪp(ə)l/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪpəl

Etymology 1

From an alteration of rimple.

Noun

ripple (plural ripples)

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.

   The ebbing tide had left ripples in the sand.

2. A sound similar to that of undulating water.
3. 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. (electronics) A small oscillation of an otherwise steady signal.

Translations

moving disturbance or undulation in the surface of a liquid

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Basque: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: ona (ca) f
• Dutch: rimpeling (nl)
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: väre (fi), kare (fi), väreily
• French: ondulation (fr) f
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Kräuseln n, kleine Welle f
• Hebrew: אדוה‎ (he) f
• Italian: increspatura f
• Japanese: 漣 (ja) (さざなみ, sazanami), 漣漪 (ja) (れんい, ren'i)
• Khmer: កង្កាញ់ (kɑŋkaɲ), អង្កាញ់ (km) (ɑŋkaɲ)

• Korean: 물결 (ko) (mulgyeol)
• Mandarin: 波 (zh) (bō)
• Manx: tonnane m
• Maori: hāki, kare, pōkarekare, karetai, kōtaotao
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Navajo: yilkʼooł
• Occitan: onda (oc) f, ondulacion
• Polish: zmarszczka (pl) f
• Portuguese: ondulação (pt) f
• Romanian: cerc (în apă) n
• Russian: рябь (ru) f (rjabʹ), зыбь (ru) f (zybʹ)
• Spanish: ondulación f
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

sound similar to that of undulating water

• Dutch: kabbelen (nl) n
• Finnish: liplatus (fi)
• Maori: orowaru

• Russian: журча́ние (ru) n (žurčánije)
• Serbo-Croatian: bućkanje n

style of ice cream

small oscillation of an otherwise steady signal

• Finnish: värinä
• French: ondulation résiduelle f
• German: Welligkeit f

• Occitan: ondulacion residuala
• Russian: колеба́ния (ru) n pl (kolebánija), пульса́ции (ru) f pl (pulʹsácii)

Verb

ripple (third-person singular simple present ripples, present participle rippling, simple past and past participle rippled)

1. To move like the undulating surface of a body of water; to undulate.
2. To propagate like a moving wave.
   • 2008, Bradley Simpson, Economists with Guns, page 65:

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

3. To make a sound as of water running gently over a rough bottom, or the breaking of ripples on the shore.

Translations

to move like the undulating surface of a body of water

• Catalan: onejar (ca)
• Dutch: kabbelen (nl)
• Finnish: väreillä, karehtia
• French: onduler (fr)

• Maori: māhitihiti, pōkarekare, wiki
• Portuguese: ondular (pt)
• Spanish: ondular (es)

to make a sound as water running across shallows

• Maori: wīwī

Etymology 2

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

Verb

ripple (third-person singular simple present ripples, present participle rippling, simple past and past participle rippled)

1. (transitive) To scratch, tear, or break slightly; graze

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Holland to this entry?)

Etymology 3

Compare 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.

Alternative forms

• reeple, riple

Noun

ripple (plural ripples)

1. An implement, with teeth like those of a comb, for removing the seeds and seed vessels from flax, broom corn, etc.

Translations

implement for removing the seeds from flax

• Dutch: repel (nl) m
• French: drège (fr) f
• Galician: ripo, ripanzo m, ripa (gl) f

• German: Riffel f, Riffelkamm m
• Italian: scapecchiatoio m

Verb

ripple (third-person singular simple present ripples, present participle rippling, simple past and past participle rippled)

1. To remove the seeds from (the stalks of flax, etc.), by means of a ripple.

Anagrams

• Prilep, Rippel