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单词 ring
释义

ringn.1

Brit. /rɪŋ/, U.S. /rɪŋ/
Forms:

α. early Old English hringae, early Old English hringiae, early Old English rhingae, Old English hrinc, Old English hrincg, Old English hring, Old English hringc, Old English hringe, Old English hringg- (inflected form), late Old English hrung, late Old English hryng.

β. Old English ringc, Old English ringce, Old English ryngc, Old English– ring, Middle English reng, Middle English renge, Middle English renke, Middle English reyng, Middle English ringge, Middle English rounge, Middle English ryengne, Middle English ryngge, Middle English rynk, Middle English ryue (transmission error), Middle English þing (transmission error), Middle English–1500s rynge, Middle English–1600s ringe, Middle English–1600s ryng; English regional 1800s– reng (Somerset); U.S. regional 1900s– rang; Scottish pre-1700 regne, pre-1700 regnne, pre-1700 reigne, pre-1700 reignne, pre-1700 reingȝe, pre-1700 reng, pre-1700 rigne, pre-1700 rignne, pre-1700 ringne, pre-1700 rying, pre-1700 ryn, pre-1700 ryne, pre-1700 ryng, pre-1700 rynge, pre-1700 1700s reing, pre-1700 1700s– ring.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian hring , ring , hreng , reng (West Frisian ring ), Old Dutch rink (in inflected forms ring- ; Middle Dutch rinc , later also ryng , Dutch ring ), Old Saxon hring (Middle Low German rink (in inflected forms ring- )), Old High German ring , rinh , rinc , rinch (Middle High German rinc (in inflected forms ring- ), ring , German Ring ), Old Icelandic hringr , Norwegian ring , Swedish ringer (Swedish ring ), Old Danish ring (Danish ring ), Crimean Gothic rinck , ringo ; probably ultimately < a base related to that of shrink v. and perhaps also to that of rung n., although the further connections are very uncertain; a very early borrowing from the Germanic base of ring n.1 (before the raising of *e to *i before a nasal in a syllable coda) is shown by Finnish rengas ring; it is possible that the same Indo-European base is shown also by Umbrian krenkatrum , apparently denoting something worn by a priest over the shoulder, perhaps a belt, strap, or sling, and (with ablaut-variation) Old Church Slavonic krǫgŭ , Old Russian krug′′ (Russian krug ) circle. Many of the early meanings in English are paralleled in a number of other early (West and frequently also North) Germanic languages, including both (physical) ring or other hollow circular object, especially of metal (as worn on the finger, arm, etc., or forming part of chain mail, or for linking things, or for hanging things from) and circle (including in various West Germanic languages application to a circle or group of people, to an armed group, unit, or host, to a row or rank, to an area or clearing, and to circles around the eyes). With the Old English by-form hringe (see note below) compare Old Saxon hringa , Old High German ringa , Old Icelandic hringja , all in sense ‘buckle, clasp’, Norwegian (Bokmål) ringe , (Nynorsk) ringje , both in sense ‘round wooden container for milk’, Norwegian regional ryngje stoneware vessel with ears, rønje large hollow tree trunk. Compare ( < English) post-classical Latin ringa measure of corn or lime (frequently from 12th cent. in British sources), measuring vessel (from 13th cent. in British sources), metal ring (13th cent. in a British source). For an important early Romance borrowing from one of the Germanic cognates of ring n.1 see rank n.1In Old English usually a strong masculine (hring ); however, a weak feminine by-form (hringe ) is also attested (chiefly in sense 3a). With sense 17a compare Old English hring-set , hring-setl , both in sense ‘circus’ ( < ring n.1 + respectively Old English set place for sitting (see set n.1) and settle n.1). Also attested early in place names (in sense 7a), as Rincsteda , Norfolk (1086; also Ringstyde in a 14th-cent. copy of a charter of c1050; now Ringstead), Ringeburg , East Riding, Yorkshire (1086; now Ringbrough), Ringstede , Northamptonshire (12th cent.; now Ringstead), Ryngemere , Sussex (1276; now Ringmer), etc. With Scots forms in -gn- perhaps compare the spelling variation shown by ring v.1 and discussion at that entry.
I. A purposely made hollow circular object of metal or other hard material.
1. An item of personal wear.
a. A small circlet intended for wearing on the finger either as an ornament or as a token of an event (as engagement, marriage, or investiture) or a feeling, and sometimes for use as a seal; also more fully finger ring (see finger ring n. at finger n. Compounds 2a). Often made of (real or simulated) precious metal, usually gold, and frequently set with precious stones or imitations of these, but also of wood, glass, plastic, or other material. Also figurative, esp. as a symbol of marriage, sovereignty, or other investiture.† to take the ring: to be invested with a ring symbolizing kingship (obsolete). to get the ring: (usually of a woman) to become engaged to be married; see also the mantle and the ring at mantle n. 1b. See also as the second element of compounds, as engagement ring at engagement n. 2d, mourning ring n. at mourning n.1 Compounds 2, pinkie ring n. at pinkie adj. and n.1 Compounds 2, seal-ring n. at seal n.2 Compounds 2, wedding-ring n. at wedding n. Compounds 2, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > jewellery > ring > [noun]
ringOE
beec1300
bague1477
hoop1507
woup1511
famble-cheat1567
famble1688
gem1725
fawney1819
groin1931
society > authority > office > accession or entering upon office or authority > accede to office [verb (intransitive)] > assume office or authority > of king
to take the ring?a1400
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > betrothal > engage oneself to marry [verb (intransitive)] > become engaged (of woman)
to get the ring1854
OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Luke xv. 22 Date anulum in manum eius et calceamenta in pedes : sellað hring on hond his & scoeas on fotum.
OE tr. Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarium (Vitell.) (1984) xix. 64 Ga to ðære ylcan wyrte..& bewrit hy abutan mid anum gyldenan hringe.
OE tr. Chrodegang of Metz Regula Canonicorum (Corpus Cambr. 191) lii. 279 Sume preostas syn þe eallinga gymað þæt..heora loccas dæl mid tyrninge cyrpsion, and heora fingras hringum scinon.
c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Bodl.) (1981) l. 553 (MED) He haueð iweddet him to mi meiðhad wið þe ring of rihte bileaue.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 4513 Ihc sende þe gretinge of mine gold ringe.
c1300 St. Wolston (Laud) l. 54 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 72 (MED) Bischop him made þe holie man..and tok him is staf and ring.
c1330 (c1250) Floris & Blauncheflur (Auch.) (1966) 823 (MED) To one chirche h[e] let hem bringge & wedde here wiȝ here owene ringge.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 85 (MED) To William þe rede kyng is gyuen þe coroun, At Westmynstere tok he ryng in þe abbay of Londoun.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) 1817 (MED) Ho raȝt hym a riche rynk of red golde werkez, Wyth a starande ston stondande alofte.
?1441 M. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 217 I pre yow þat ye wyl were þe reyng wyth þe emage of Seynt Margrete.
1444 Will in Publ. Somerset Rec. Soc. (1903) 19 340 (MED) Y ordeyne to Alice, my wyf, a ryng with a dyamaund.
a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) iv. xvi. (heading) How thre bollis of rengis weyr To Cartage sende.
?1507 W. Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen (Rouen) in Poems (1998) I. 50 In ringis ryally set with riche ruby stonis.
1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Matrimonie f. xiiii* The manne shall geue vnto the womanne a ring.
1595 W. Allen et al. Conf. Next Succession Crowne of Ingland i. iii. 58 He was digraded, his name of king first taken from him..and then his crowne and ring were taken away.
a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) iv. ii. 46 Mine Honors such a Ring, My chastities the Iewell of our house. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) iv. iv. 95 This Ring I gaue him, when he parted from me, To binde him to remember my good will. View more context for this quotation
1645 J. Milton Il Penseroso in Poems 41 Canace..That own'd the vertuous Ring and Glass.
1679 Established Test 25 As if they had King Gyges his enchanted Ring, they walk invisible.
1732 T. Lediard tr. J. Terrasson Life Sethos II. x. 451 My lord, I restore you the ring I took from you.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth II. 143 He began to reflect that the dead body had got a ring upon one of the fingers.
1787 tr. G. B. Casti Il Re Teodoro in Venezia ii. xvii. 107 Take back your ring, your crown and your kingdom—I want to get rid of my engagements.
1825 ‘P. Ponder’ Noctes Atticæ 71 A. Gellius..relates the custom of the Greeks and Romans wearing a ring on the left hand, and upon the finger next to the least.
1854 S. Smith Way down East ii. 51 ‘For who knows,’ said she, ‘but what I shall get the ring; and who knows but what I shall be married before any of you, now?’
1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits iii. 47 The sea, which..divided the poor Britons utterly from the world, proved to be the ring of marriage with all nations.
1890 H. Frederic Lawton Girl 45 There are times..when one likes to take off one's rings, even if the stones are perfection itself.
1914 J. Joyce Dubliners 122 Lizzie Fleming said Maria was sure to get the ring and..Maria had to laugh and say she didn't want any ring or man either.
1950 P. Bowles Let. 22 Feb. in In Touch (1994) 213 He noticed that his bracelets and rings weren't making headway in the winning of my favor.
1979 D. Cook Winter Doves ii. iii. 64 Got the ring yet, Walter? Has she proposed to you yet?
1994 H. A. Lloyd tr. C. Loyseau Treat. Orders & Plain Dignities ii. 38 The public gave them the ring to serve as a seal, its main usage.
2004 S. D'Erasmo Seahorse Year 11 She wore a cheap ring with a little cartoon Mao star on it.
b. A circular band worn elsewhere than on the finger as an ornament. Cf. bee n.2 1.Frequently (esp. in early modern English) in earring n. See also as the second element of other compounds, as ankle ring n. at ankle n. Compounds 2, arm-ring n. at arm n.1 Compounds, belly button ring n. at belly n. Additions, eyebrow ring at eyebrow n. Compounds 2, neck ring n. at neck n.1 Compounds 1a, nose-ring n. 1, tongue ring n. at tongue n. Additions, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > jewellery > jewellery of specific shape or form > [noun]
ringOE
beec1009
languet1378
Collar of SS., S's, or Esses1406
tablet?a1425
fetterlock1463
serpent-tongue1488
triangle1529
flory1530
gorget1570
medal1578
tablet jewel1599
sprig1602
bracelet1624
medallion1658
croisette1688
torques1693
scarabaeus1775
crosslet1802
torque1834
teardrop1870
scarab1878
scaraboid1879
scarabaeoid1887
squash blossom1923
clip1937
OE Beowulf (2008) 1195 Him wæs..wunden gold estum geeawed, earmreade twa, hrægl ond hringas, healsbeaga mæst.
OE Beowulf (2008) 2809 Dyde him of healse hring gyldenne þioden þristhydig, þegne gesealde, geongum garwigan, goldfahne helm, beah ond byrnan.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3547 Here faigere ringes he boden taken, And don in fier, and geten, and maken An calf of gold.
a1425 (c1384) Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Corpus Oxf.) (1850) Ezek. xvi. 12 I ȝaf ryngis [L. armillas] in thin hoondis..and I ȝaue a reng [L. inaurem] vpon thi mouth.
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 44/1 Whan he had seen the ryngis in his susters eeris & her poynettis or armyllis on her hondes.
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Rynge or lyke thynge to hange at ones eare.
1599 N. Breton Miseries Mavillia ii Here my sweete Mistresse, take this Pearle-ioye Set it in the ring that hangeth at mine eare.
1619 H. Hutton Satyricall Epigrams in Follie's Anat. sig. C8 Svperbus swaggers with a Ring in's eare.
1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 8 They wore rings in their ears.
1700 S. L. tr. C. Schweitzer Relation Voy. in tr. C. Frick & C. Schweitzer Relation Two Voy. E.-Indies 278 Their Arms and their Legs are all adorned with Silver Rings.
1738 G. Medley tr. P. Kolb Present State Cape Good-Hope (ed. 2) I. 194 Some of the grown Women have above a Hundred of those Rings upon each Leg, lying several-fold one upon another.
1787 Archaeologia 8 256 The ankles and wrists ornamented with large rings or bangles.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Sir Launcelot & Queen Guinevere in Poems (new ed.) II. 207 A light-green tuft of plumes she bore Closed in a golden ring.
1851 D. Wilson Archæol. & Prehistoric Ann. Scotl. iii. v. 450 Objects of this class are named by the Danish antiquaries, Rings for the Hair.
1900 W. H. Fitchett Wellington's Men 103 Their ears, from which rings had been roughly snatched.
1909 J. R. Swanton Tlingit Myths & Texts c. 316 Here is the copper ring that was around his neck.
1943 S. H. Bell Summer Loanen 74 Its patrons are mostly sailors with shanty basses and gold rings in their ear, and occasional furtive business men.
1999 J. S. Jeffers Greco-Roman World of New Test. Era ii. 44 Ethiopian women wore a ring through the lip.
2004 A. B. Hemmings Coming of Age in U.S. High Schools iii. 73 They pierced their ears, noses, lips, and other body parts with gold rings and studs.
†c. In extended use: a seal. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > marking > imprinting > sealing > [noun] > engraved stamp used for
inseila1000
seala1300
lead1340
signet1392
sinetc1440
jark1567
cashet1609
sigila1610
ring1637
cacheta1639
signet ring1726
cylinder seal1887
1637 S. Rutherford Lett. (1664) i. xvii. 46 I shall not believe that Christ will put His Amen & ring upon an imagination.
2. One of the small circles of iron of which chain mail was composed.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > armour > [noun] > mail-armour > ring or plate of
ringOE
mailc1330
rustre1818
OE Beowulf 2260 Ne mæg byrnan hring æfter wigfruman wide feran.
OE Prudentius Glosses (Cleo. C.viii) in A. S. Napier Old Eng. Glosses (1900) 216/2 Hamis : circulis loricę, hringum.
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 2740 (MED) Godrich..smot him on þe sholdre so Þat he dide þare undo Of his brinie ringes mo.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) 580 Syþen þe brawden bryne of bryȝt stel ryngez Vmbeweued þat wyȝ, vpon wlonk stuffe.
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 2980 (MED) Sum araies þaim in ringis [Dublin rynggez], & sum in row brenys.
1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. bviv Ryngis of rank steill rattillit and rent.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) v. x. 25 The wryth of gold, or chane lowpyt in ryngis, About thar hals down to thar breistis hyngis.
1610 J. Guillim Display of Heraldrie iv. iv. 197 These are called Annulets..and are supposed to be Rings of Maile.
1696 E. Phillips New World of Words (new ed.) at Mail A sort of defensive Armour for the Body, wrought in Rings as it were linkt together.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Habergeon A Coat..form'd of little Iron Rings, or Mashes, link'd into each other.
1780 F. Ashmore tr. Voltaire Zadig 35/2 The plumes of their helmets, the studs of their brassarts, and the rings of which their armour was composed, flew afar off, by the force of a thousand precipitate blows.
1834 J. R. Planché Hist. Brit. Costume 29 As early as the eighth century they [sc. the Anglo-Saxons] were familiar with the byrne, or tunic of rings.
1846 F. W. Fairholt Costume in Eng. 150 The mailles or rings of the hauberk appear,..sewn down, perhaps, on a sort of gambeson.
1900 Notes & Queries 7 Apr. 270/2 Clumsy imitations of the true ‘chain-mail’ are known, both ancient and modern, and usually consist of circular rings whose ends are, as goldsmiths say, ‘jumped’ together, i.e., not welded.
1946 Metrop. Mus. Art Bull. 4 1/1 One of the suits of chain mail took 220,000 steel rings.
2006 J. R. Wigelsworth Sci. & Technol. in Medieval European Life vi. 89 For particularly strong armor, two rings would be used in place of one.
3.
a. A circular band of any dimension, used as a means of attachment, suspension, compression, etc.When the dimensions are fairly large, and the outer and inner faces are flattened, the more usual name is hoop. See also as the second element of compounds, as key ring n., napkin ring n. at napkin n. Compounds, picture ring n. at picture n. Compounds 4, rubber ring n. at rubber n.1 Compounds 3, teething ring n. at teething n.2 Compounds 2, etc.
ΚΠ
eOE Épinal Gloss. (1974) 23 Fibula, hringiae [eOE Corpus Gloss. hringe, sigl].
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xxii. 169 Dryhten bebead Moyse hu he scolde beran ða earce, ða he cuæð: Wyrc feower hringas ælgyldene.
OE Genesis B 762 He is on þære sweartan helle hæft mid hringa gesponne.
OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1881) I. 444 Eala ðu Drihten God ealra gesceafta scyppend, getiða me synfullum þæt ic ateo þas hringan up of ðysum hlyde, gif se lið her on innan seðe me spræc to on swæfne þriwa.
c1300 St. Swithun (Harl.) l. 113 in F. J. Furnivall Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 46 (MED) Þer liþ a ston..Ringes of yre þer beoþ on ynailled þerto faste.
c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 1854 (MED) His rote, wiþ outen wen, He rauȝt bi þe ring.
?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 9 (MED) Sette a colte in aumblyng ringes, he will use it whiles thei aren on.
1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) (1859) i. xxxvii. 41 Anone this lady Justyce took this balaunce by the rynge, and bygan to reyse hit vp.
a1486 in Archaeologia (1900) 57 44 (MED) To arme a man..his shorte swerde upon the lyfte side in a rounde rynge all nakid to pulle it oute lightli.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Esther i. A Fastened with coardes of lynnen and scarlet in siluer rynges.
1580 in J. Raine Fabric Rolls York Minster (1859) 117 For makinge a tyrret and a rynge of yron to the masons well buckett, 10 d.
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant ii. 92 [The vest] standing out round as if it had a Ring of Iron in it.
1726 Gentleman Angler 5 It will be very convenient to have Rings or Eyes..placed..upon your Rod.
1726 Gentleman Angler 5 Through these Rings your Line must run.
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine at Cannon Breeching-bolts, with rings, through which the breechings pass.
1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. at Cannon The Reliever is an iron flat ring, with a wooden handle, at right angles to it.
1841 R. H. Dana Seaman's Man. 87 Pass the cat-stopper through the ring of the anchor.
1860 All Year Round 7 July 307 A napkin..rolled within its ivory ring.
1868 F. H. Joynson Metals in Constr. 20 The chimney..is..frequently formed of only one course of bricks, strongly bound together by stout iron rings and girders.
1905 ‘Q’ Shining Ferry iii. xviii. 186 Through this ring... Mr. Hosken had run a frape, on which he kept his blue boat.
1953 E. Wilkins & E. Kaiser tr. R. Musil Man without Qualities I. xliii. 205 The passion for fodder was housed in a marble manger full of delicious oats..the sound of the stable halter rubbing on the ring, and concentrated in the warm stable-smell of bread.
1984 R. A. Boakes From Darwin to Behaviourism vii. 187/1 A basket filled with bananas was suspended from a cord which ran over a pulley with the other end attached to a ring.
2004 B. J. Kusmirek In Bedroom xxxiv. 205 Mac fumbled for her key which hung on a ring with about thirty other ones.
b. = curtain-ring n. at curtain n.1 Compounds 3.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > covers or hangings > [noun] > hangings > curtain > curtain fittings
ringa1382
curtain-ring1483
curtain hookc1505
curtain-rodc1505
window pole1822
curtain-pole1865
curtain rail1924
glider1957
track1971
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Exod. xxvi. 5 Þe cortyne schall haue fyfty ringis [alt. to oiletis; L. ansulas] in eyþer party so sett inne þat o ringe [v.r. renge] may comme aȝeyns anoþer.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) 857 (MED) Burnez..broȝt hym to a bryȝt boure, þer beddyng watz noble Of cortynes of clene sylk wyth cler golde hemmez..Rudelez rennande on ropez, red golde ryngez.
1463–5 Rolls of Parl.: Edward IV (Electronic ed.) Parl. Apr. 1463 §22. m. 7 That noo marchaunt..bryng, sende nor conveye..into this reame..eny of theese wares or thinges underwriten: that is to sey..rynges for curtyns, [etc.].
1506–7 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1901) III. 276 For x dosan ringis and thre rodis of irn for courtingis in the princes chamer.
1552–3 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1913) X. 160 For..ringis to hing the curtingis of my lorde governoures bed witht.
1635 T. Heywood Hierarchie Blessed Angells iii. 115 So many Rings, by which the Curtaines hung, All vniformly, and in order strung.
1670 J. Smith England's Improvem. Reviv'd 80 One of the said Chains must be divided into 16 parts by 15 brass Rings, such as are used about Curtains.
1704 F. Manning tr. Hist. Dion Cassius II. 359 He stood stark naked, after the fashion of Courtezans, behind a Curtain that hung by Rings of Gold, calling those that pass'd by in a soft, effeminate tone.
1792 J. Wolcot Ode to Margate Hoy in Wks. (1812) III. 65 With fingers..loaded much like Curtain-rods with Rings.
1814 J. Austen Mansfield Park I. xv. 296 The curtain will be a good job..we shall be able to send back some dozens of the rings . View more context for this quotation
1847 C. Brontë Jane Eyre II. i. 2 A woman..sewing rings to new curtains.
1876 J. Grant Morley Ashton III. viii. 74 The number of brass rings on the curtain rods, the gyrations of the flies, that buzzed about the night-lamp.., the knots in the wainscot.., all mingled with the memory of this song.
1926–7 Army & Navy Stores Catal. 1106/1 Rod for curtains... Plain Ball Ends... Rings, per dozen (½ in. larger than pole).
1950 Pop. Mech. Jan. 178/2 Before Installing Rings on homemade plastic shower curtains it is a good idea to reinforce the top edge with a strip of adhesive tape.
2006 J. Wells & V. Wells Oh Sew Easy Duvet Covers & Curtains 55 Many people prefer rings to tabs for curtains that will be opened and closed frequently.
c. = nose-ring n. 2.See also hog ring n. at hog n.1 Compounds 2a, pig ring n. at pig n.1 Compounds 2a, snout-ring n. at snout n.1 Compounds 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > general equipment > [noun] > nose-ring
ringa1398
staple1688
nose-ring1778
bullring1850
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xviii. xv. 1151 The Bugle..may nought be tamed but wiþ an yrene Rynge [L. circulo ferreo] y-do þurgh his nose þurle, by þe whiche rynge he is y-ladde about.
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Isa. xxxvii. 29 Y schal sette a ryng [a1382 E. V. cercle; L. circulum] in thi nosethirlis and a bridil in thi lippis.
1589 L. Wright Display of Dutie 9 A hogges snout with a golden ring.
1602 W. Fulbecke Pandectes xii. f. 77v The Lord put a ring into his snowt, and brought him backe againe.
1772 G. A. Stevens Songs cxxvii. 231 A Dancing-Bear led by a ring in his snout.
1814 C. W. Dilke Old Eng. Plays I. 305 This plays upon the custom of putting a ring through the nose of a pig.
1871 E. Lear Owl & Pussy-cat in Nonsense Songs sig. 2v And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood, With a ring at the end of his nose.
1929 Pop. Mech. Nov. 813/1 A ring is placed in the nose and small chains run from it to the tip of each horn, where small holes have been drilled for fastening.
1986 A. Wainwright Pennine Journey iii. 50 A bull with a ring in its nose is not necessarily vicious, but a bull without a ring in its nose may be.
2007 N. G. Gregory Animal Welfare & Meat Production vi. 108/1 Inserting the ring is stressful and painful,and it damages the trust the pig has in the stockperson.
†d. A circular door knocker. Obsolete. [Compare Middle Dutch rinc, Middle Low German rinc in similar use.]
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > signalling > audible signalling > knocking, etc., as signal > [noun] > one who or that which > door-knocker
ringc1405
crow1579
knocker1598
clapper1617
ringle1639
door-ringa1674
rapper1767
door-knocker1839
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > window or door > parts of door > [noun] > door fittings > door-knocker
ringc1405
crow1579
hammer1585
knocker1598
clapper1617
ringle1639
rapper1767
door-knocker1839
ring knocker1841
c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1564 The rynges on the temple dore þt honge And eek the dores, clatereden ful faste.
a1425 (?a1350) Seven Sages (Galba) (1907) l. 1559 (MED) Þe whif at þe dore þe ring gan shak.
c1450 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 618/14 Tussimulus, i. pulsatorium, the rynge of a dore.
?a1500 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 615/39 Tenaculum, a rynge of a dore.
1585 J. Higgins tr. Junius Nomenclator 214/2 Cornix.., the ring or iron hammer wherewith we knocke at the doore.
1591 R. Percyvall Bibliotheca Hispanica Dict. at Aldáua de puerta The ring or hammer of a doore.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage ii. xvii. 205 [It] is vnlawfull to knocke with the ring or hammer of a doore.
a1674 J. Milton Brief Hist. Moscovia (1682) v. 84 So terrible a noise, as shakes the Door-rings of Houses..ten mile off.
1685 E. Browne Brief Acct. Trav. Europe (ed. 2) 107 When any woman is brought to bed, they fasten a piece of Lawne to the ring and rapper of the Door.
1701 A. J. Compl. Acct. Portugueze Lang. sig. Ssv The iron ring of a door where the knocker hangs.
1777 G. Colman Epicoene ii. in Dramatic Wks. 232 You have taken the ring off from the street-door, as I bad you?
1847 R. Brandon & J. A. Brandon Anal. Gothick Archit. I. 102 The closing ring or door latch..[consists of] the flat plate or washer, fixed to the outer surface of the door; the handle or ring; and the spindle.
1890 P. B. Du Chaillu in Q. Rev. Apr. 360 The ring on the door of the temple was connected with an important incident.
e. Astronomy. An instrument for measuring the altitude of the sun, consisting of a circle mounted in the plane of the meridian; an armillary circle (cf. circle n. 13a). More fully astronomer's ring, astronomical ring. Now historical and rare.
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the world > the universe > cosmology > science of observation > astronomical instruments > [noun] > astrolabe > astronomer's ring
ring1551
mariner's ring1574
1551 R. Record Pathway to Knowl. ii. Pref. sig. a.iij The arte of measuryng by the astronomers staffe, and by the astronomers ryng.
1594 T. Blundeville Exercises vii. xxxvi. 712 Seeke by your Astronomicall Ring..to know what houre it is.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Ring, is also an Instrument used in Navigation, for taking the Altitudes of the Sun, &c.
1784 R. Dunthorne et al. Long's Astron. (new ed.) II. v. ix. 699 He [sc. Gemma Frisius] invented and described an instrument, which he called an astronomical ring.
1987 J. A. Bennett Divided Circle i. 12 His meridian armillary or ring..was designed for measuring the altitude of the Sun when due South.
f. A numbered band of light metal placed loosely round the leg of a bird, esp. while still a nestling, so that it may be uniquely identified when caught on a later occasion (in the case of wild birds) or as captive-bred (in the case of captive birds); a similar band in coloured plastic, for identification in the field; = leg ring n. 3. Also: an incomplete band placed loosely on the forearm of a bat. Also called (esp. in North American use) band.
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the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping birds > [noun] > marking or ringing > ring
ring1887
leg ring1897
bird band1912
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or breeding other animals > [noun] > ringing bats > ring
ring1887
1887 Sun (Baltimore) 20 Apr. Suppl. 2/2 Louis N. Todd killed a carrier pigeon on Saturday... A brass ring around one foot bore the number 5,422.
1907 Brit. Birds 1 58 The plan of marking birds by an aluminium ring round the leg has often been tried, but never in a really systematic fashion... To place rings on the legs of young birds just before they fledge would not be a great difficulty.
1925 E. L. Turner & R. Gurney Bk. about Birds vii. 71 Much has been discovered about the movements of birds by fixing small numbered rings on the legs of young birds in the nest.
1958 Listener 30 Oct. 684/1 The ‘ring’ is generally a thin strip of aluminium, shaped like the letter ‘C’... On a bird, it is clamped round the leg; but a bat's leg is too delicate for this, so the ring is put round the fore-arm.
1973 Guardian 5 Feb. 11/5 The British Bird Fancy Council..is now introducing a system of coded rings..and encouraging breeders to keep full records.
1999 Cage & Aviary Birds 14 Aug. 5/1 A red-shouldered noble macaw was found in Dorking, Surrey, on July 12. It has a pink closed ring on its right foot.
g. A flat circular (or spiral-shaped) device, usually forming part of a cooker or hob, on which a pan or other vessel can be heated using gas, electricity, or oil. Cf. boiling ring n. at boiling n. Additions, gas ring n. at gas n.1 and adj. Compounds 3, ring burner n. at Compounds 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > stove or cooker > [noun] > part of
hotplate1803
firebox1838
range cock1842
hearth1845
boiling ring1894
griller1895
grill1907
ring1911
cooktop1941
hob1962
back burner1963
splashplate1967
1911 N.-Y. Tribune 15 Nov. 8/1 There were ovenless folk—those with kitchenettes only, or portable two ring stoves.
1916 Times 16 Oct. 6/3 (advt.) The Record ‘One Ring’ Cooker. Gas or oil.
1980 R. Rendell Lake of Darkness i. 5 An electric ring. There was no plug on its lead..and the coiled element had some kind of black grease or oil on it.
1990 Country Homes Oct. 147 Through heat retention the unique Multi-Server poaches fish off the hob, as well as cooking rice, pasta, noodles and vegetables, thus freeing cooker rings.
2002 Star (Sheffield) (Nexis) 14 Jan. I moved the pan off the ring but couldn't find a towel to put over it.
h. Horticulture. A bottomless container used for the ring culture of plants (see ring culture n. at Compounds 2a).
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the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > equipment and buildings > [noun] > flower-pot or tub > specialized types
sixteen1802
sixty1802
twelve1802
sices1824
hyacinth-glass1836
strawberry pot1946
ring1953
1953 J. R. Booer in World Crops June 246/2 The soil in the ring allows the use of commercially available liquid fertilisers and dispensers with the analytical control necessary in soilless culture.
1976 Observer 9 May (Colour Suppl.) 12/2 The best way to grow tomatoes is by ‘ring culture’. The soil in the greenhouse..is replaced with aggregate, such as clinker, and the tomatoes planted in rings, or bottomless pots.
2008 Western Mail (Nexis) 31 May 30 The rings are bottomless plastic containers nine inches in diameter and nine inches deep set out at 18in intervals.
4.
a. A circlet of metal suspended from a post which each of a number of riders attempted to carry off on the point of a lance. Chiefly in to run (also ride) at the ring; also †to win the ring: to carry off the prize. Now historical.
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the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > succeed or be a success [verb (intransitive)] > win > carry off the prize
to win the ringa1513
to bear or carry away the bell1594
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > equestrian sports except racing > [noun] > other competitions
ringa1513
goose-riding1785
tent-pegging1878
lemon-cutting1889
musical chairs1933
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. ccxvi. f. cxxxvv For Harolde, was stronge of knyghtes and Rychesse, He wanne the Rynge.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. vii Certayn noble men made a wager to runne at the rynge.
1591 E. Spenser Prosopopoia in Complaints 742 Assaying..Now the nigh aymed ring away to beare.
a1640 P. Massinger Parl. of Love (1976) ii. ii. 79 To fight at barriers, or to breake a launce, Or in theire full careere to take the ring.
1686 London Gaz. No. 2142/3 After which they ran at the Ring, and the Marquis de la Chastre got the Prize.
1723 R. Blackmore Alfred ix. 323 With long protended Spears these tilting spring, Those run with manag'd Coursers at the Ring.
1798 J. Sinclair Statist. Acct. Scotl. XX. 433 They spend the evening in some public competition of dexterity or skill. Of these, ‘riding at the ring’..is the chief.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas III. viii. ix. 317 Egging me on to run at the ring for every prize.
1864 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia IV. xvi. vi. 316 Carrousel..is, in fact, a kind of superb betailored running at the ring.
1939 N. Carolina: Guide to Old North State (Federal Writers' Project) 92 Knights still ride at the ring in some of the Southern States.
2005 E. Fox-Genovese & E. D. Genovese Mind of Master Class iii. x. 356 ‘Knights’ rode at the ring rather than at each other—but the ring was no easy conquest.
b. In plural. A competitive game in which rings are thrown on to hooks.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > quoits > games resembling quoits > [noun]
penny-prick1421
penny-stone?c1475
loggat1541
ringing the bull1815
bull1863
ring toss1870
ringoal1887
rings1906
jukskei1942
cornhole game2002
1906 B. Kennedy Wander Pict. 245 Over yonder on the [inn] wall is the target with hooks at which they play the game of rings. They stand off and pitch rubber rings on to the hooks.
1944 S. Putnam tr. E. da Cunha Rebellion in Backlands 95 Cowpunchers, foremen, and peons may be seen rounding up the herd,..pursuing intractable steers, lassoing the wild pony, or felling the rearing bull with the boleador, as if they were playing a game of rings.
2006 K. Bruen Amer. Skin 111 My father liked a pint, come Friday night, he'd go out, have three, play rings, come home.
5. Gunnery.
a. One of a number of raised bands passing round the body of a cannon, piece of ordnance, or firearm. Chiefly as the second element of compounds, as base ring, cornice ring, muzzle ring, reinforce ring, trunnion ring. Now historical.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > parts and fittings of firearms > [noun] > raised band on cannon
ring?a1610
?a1610 Gesta Grayorum ii, in J. Nichols Progresses Queen Elizabeth (1823) III. 324 His Highnes Master of the Ordinance claimes to have all peece guld in the touch-hole, or broken within the ringe.
1626 J. Smith Accidence Young Sea-men 32 Her carnooze, or base ring at her britch..mousell-rings at her mouth.
1645 N. Stone Enchiridion of Fortification 56 The Astragall, or Coronice ring.
1702 Mil. Dict. (at cited word) Base~ring, The great Ring next to and behind the Touch-hole [of a cannon].
1795 Ld. Nelson 9 July in Dispatches & Lett. (1845) I. 430 The Agamemnon's two twenty-four pounders are both ruined: one split up to the rings.
1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. Rings of a Gun, circles of metal, of which there are five [etc.].
1841 R. Park Pantology iv. xv. 489 The principal parts of any cannon, or piece of ordnance, are..the breech or base, and base ring, behind the vent; the first reinforce, extending from the vent..to the first reinforce ring; [etc.].
1901 T. D. West Metall. Cast Iron (ed. 3) iii. lx. 461 Bars 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 12 and 13 were cast with metal which was used to pour a lower base ring for a 12-inch spring return mortar carriage.
1955 W. Y. Carman Hist. Firearms (2004) ii. 63 The bronze trunnion ring placed at the centre has two light lifting handles.
2005 W. Weir 50 Weapons that changed Warfare xvii. 82 The German bayonet of the two world wars did away with the muzzle ring and attached the handle of the bayonet to a long bar below the rifle barrel.
Categories »
b. See Broadwell ring n.
6. Gymnastics. In plural. (An apparatus consisting of) a pair of rings suspended approx. 2.5 metres above the floor on cables, used by a (usually male) gymnast to perform various manoeuvres demonstrating upper body strength. Also: the competitive gymnastics event in which these are used.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > gymnastics > [noun] > equipment
plummet?1537
springboard?1780
horse1785
trampoline1798
club1815
gallows1817
Indian club1825
rope1825
horizontal bar1827
trapeze1830
vaulting bar1839
parallel bars1850
wooden horse1854
trapezium1856
giant stride1863
ring1869
vaulting horse1875
mast1880
fly-pole1884
pommel1887
Roman ring1894
mat1903
wall bar1903
pommel horse1908
buck1932
pommel vault1932
landing mat1941
rebounder1980
1869 A. Maclaren Syst. Physical Educ. ii. 309 Slowly let the whole body descend in position between the rings, at the same time extending the arms perfectly straight right and left,..until the arms are at right angles with the body.
1925 N.Y. Times 27 Feb. 12/5 The Dartmouth gym team defeated the Tigers here today... Bliss of Dartmouth won the rings and the rope climb.
1957 Encycl. Brit. XI. 20/2 The ‘Olympic six’ for men comprise floor exercises, work on the horizontal bar, parallel bars and rings, pommelled horse and vaulting.
1999 Gymnast Jan.–Feb. 21/2 Rings has evolved into a dull event for the public, with routines seemingly divided only by how long the hold parts hold.
2004 Nature 5 Aug. 603/2 The ‘Maltese cross’—a challenging move on the rings where a gymnast holds his body up in a horizontal position.
II. An object, form, or part whose circularity is natural, secondary to another feature or function, or more or less incidental.
7.
a. An object having the form of a circle or disc; a circular fold, coil, or bend; a piece or part (of something) forming a circle.In quot. OE1 with reference to the ocean encircling Noah's ark.Also as the second element of compounds, as onion ring n. at onion n.1 Compounds 2.In Old English also as the first element of compounds, as hring-boga coiled creature, hring-mere round pool, hring-pytt round pit, etc.
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the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [noun] > annular quality > ring
ringeOE
circlec1305
cerceaus1340
hoop1530
hoop-ring1545
annulus1563
ringleta1616
annule1681
zone1752
eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) v. x. 123 Mon geseah swelce an fyren hring norðan cumen mid micle swege.
eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in W. G. Stryker Lat.-Old Eng. Gloss. in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1951) 252 In spira [chelydri], in hringe.
eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in J. J. Quinn Minor Lat.-Old Eng. Glossaries in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1956) 145 [Purpureis contexta] serta [floribus] : hringas.
OE Genesis A (1931) 1393 Siððan wide rad wolcnum under ofer holmes hrincg hof seleste.
OE Genesis A (1931) 2855 Siððan þu gestigest steape dune, hrincg þæs hean landes.
OE Antwerp Gloss. (1955) 143 Corimbi, wingearda hringa[s] [i.e. vine-tendrils].
OE Aldhelm Glosses (Royal 5 E.xi) in A. S. Napier Old Eng. Glosses (1900) 165/1 [Teres lunaris globi] circulus : hri[ng] [OE Brussels 1650 trendel].
1400 in F. C. Hingeston Royal & Hist. Lett. Reign Henry IV (1860) I. 38 (MED) We hoope we shalle do the a pryve thyng, a roope, a ladder, and a ring, heigh on gallowes for to henge.
c1425 Edward, Duke of York Master of Game (Vesp. B.xii) (1904) 62 (MED) A greihounde shuld haue..a Cattes take [v.r. tayle] makyng a ryng at eende.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor 166 If a marchant or eny other man haue..nede forto bithenke upon a certeine erand, it is weel allowid..that he make a ring of a rische and putte it on his fynger.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) ii. iv. 24 Hys twa sonnys ȝyng First athir serpent lappit lyke a ryng.
1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. in Euphues (new ed.) f. 12v The coyne they vse, is either of Brasse, or els rings of Iron, sised at a certeine waight in steede of money.
1607 G. Markham Cavelarice ii. 59 Some horsmen vse that bytt, which wee call the Bastonet or Ieine bytt, which is made with..great rough rings, made high like wheeles.
1646 R. Crashaw Sospetto d'Herode ix, in Steps to Temple 54 Their lockes are beds of uncomb'd snakes that wind About their shady browes in wanton Rings.
1686 R. Plot Nat. Hist. Staffs. v. 198 The rings of stone, Iron, and Copper, found about the stalks of Gorse.
1723 R. Blackmore Alfred iii. 92 Cables in Rings, like vast Sea-Serpents, roll'd Their twisted Lengths voluminous enfold.
1781 W. Cowper Retirem. 231 As woodbine..In spiral rings ascends the trunk.
1796 Glasse's Art of Cookery (new ed.) v. 48 Strain the sauce over the woodcock, and lay on the onion in rings.
1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna i. xii. 4 Sometimes the Snake around his enemy's neck Locked in stiff rings his adamantine coil.
1852 M. Arnold Future 14 The river in gleaming rings Sluggishly winds through the plain.
1882 A. Geikie in Darwin's Life & Lett. (1887) I. 324 The origin of those remarkable rings of coral-rock in mid-ocean.
a1895 J. B. L. Warren Waking Skylark in Coll. Poems (1903) 450 The sky-dew quivers on thy wing, Thou quailest with delight To sail so near the strong sun's ring.
1920 E. Wharton Age of Innocence ix. 74 The light touched to russet the rings of dark hair escaping from her braids.
1960 G. Maxwell (title) Ring of bright water.
1996 E. G. Ruestow Microscope in Dutch Republic v. 114 To explore that structure further, Swammerdam threaded a hair through a segment of vessel and..pulled apart the spiral rings with pincers and fine needles.
b. Anatomy and Zoology. Originally: any of the C-shaped cartilages of the trachea. Later also: any of various structures of circular form; esp. an annular (or modified annular) body segment of an annelid, arthropod, or other invertebrate.
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the world > life > biology > physical aspects or shapes > shape > [noun] > ring or loop
ring?a1425
loop1846
signet ring1876
signet1897
the world > life > the body > structural parts > cartilage > cartilage of specific parts > [noun] > of neck or throat
ringbonec1400
ring?a1425
lavell1530
epiglot1547
flap?1550
weezle1594
cricoid1615
epiglottis1615
over-tongue1615
ring-gristle1615
shield-gristle1615
throat stopper1661
guggle1680
throat flap1683
ring cartilage1690
fillet1693
thyroid cartilage1726
thyroid1840
arytenoid1849
shield-cartilage1881
triticeous cartilage or nodule1891
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Lepidoptera or butterflies and moths > [noun] > larva > parts of > annular joint of
ring1713
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > parts of insects > [noun] > general parts > annular joint of body
ring1753
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Hunterian) f. 52 (MED) Þe grustillie ringes off þe wesaunt ben defautie towarde þe weie off þe mete.
?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 148 (MED) When þat þe squynancies ben made most wode..þat scapynge þat is trowed is openynge of þe pype of þropul so bytwene two rynges þat he may breþe.
1580 T. Blundeville Foure Offices Horsemanship (rev. ed.) iv. 43 Absirtus would haue the fundament on the out side to be cut round about, but so as the inward ring thereof be not touched, for that were dangerous, and would kill the horse.
1597 P. Lowe Whole Course Chirurg. v. viii. sig. N1 Thou shalt make incision on the trachearter, betwixt the thirde and fourth ring, cutting onely the membrane that holdeth them together.
1634 T. Johnson tr. A. Paré Chirurg. Wks. iii. xiv. 104 I know Columbus laughes at this glandulous ring, but any one that lookes more attentively shall perceive that the Pylorus is glandulous.
1713 W. Derham Physico-theol. iv. xii. 223 Their [sc. earth-worms] Body is made throughout of small Rings, and these Rings have a curious Apparatus of Muscles.
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. Rings, of flies,..the several rounds, or circular portions, of which the bodies of these and other insects are composed.
1835–6 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. I. 753/2 The framework or solid parts of the Crustacea consist..of a series of rings.
1859 R. H. Semple tr. P. Bretonneau et al. Mem. Diphtheria 56 Its shape indicated that it had lined the thyroid cartilage, as far as the first rings of the trachea.
1930 H. G. Newth Marshall & Hurst's Junior Course Pract. Zool. (ed. 11) xiv. 373 Behind the cricoid the trachea narrows slightly, and is strengthened by a series of cartilaginous rings, incomplete along the mid-dorsal line.
1960 D. C. Braungart & R. Buddeke Introd. Animal Biol. (ed. 5) x. 130 The body is made up of a series of rings or segments, usually called somites or metameres, varying in number in different individuals from one hundred to one hundred and fifty or even more.
1988 C. J. P. Grimmelikhuijzen et al. in M. C. Thorndyke & G. J. Goldsworthy Neurohormones in Invertebr. iii. 199 Circular tracts, or nerve rings, have been found in the bell margin of hydrozoan medusae.
2002 S. J. Gould Struct. Evolutionary Theory iv. 305 If exoskeletal body rings must be treated as homologs of vertebrae in the spinal column, then arthropod appendages must be equated with vertebrate ribs—and insects walk on their ribs!
c. A raised decorative band on something.
ΚΠ
1628 R. Norton Gunner 72 All which Mouldures, Rings, Armes, Deuices..may be at pleasure added therevnto.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 462/1 The Rings, or Filets, are the curious molten work and Garnish cast on the out~side the Bell.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Baton..is a large Ring, or Moulding, in the Base of a Column, otherwise call'd Tore.
1834 Penny Cycl. II. 51/1 The small eccentric rings or bands which enrich the lower part of the moulding of the Doric capital.
1861 C. H. Owen & T. L. Dames Elem. Lect. Artillery (ed. 3) i. 14 The exterior of a gun is more or less ornamented with rings, astragals, &c., according to the fancy of its constructor.
1920 A. B. Dodd Up the Seine xxi. 318 The Doric column, with its dulled bronze rings, its blurred bas-reliefs, and the eagle crowning the pillar of stone, had vanished.
1973 Pop. Mech. June 82/3 Latest Coleman camp lantern features double mantle for increased brightness..and a decorative ring of frosted bars around the globe to diffuse and soften illumination.
2001 B. Haynes Eloquent Oboe ii. B. 65 The outside profiles of woodwinds were inspired by architectural moulding figures like the ogee,..bead or ring,..and baluster or vase.
d. Each of the concentric circular bands of wood constituting the yearly growth of a tree.annual, growth, tree ring: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > part of tree or woody plant > wood > [noun] > ring or layer
insertion1624
ring1664
annual ring1672
year1708
year ring1845
growth ring1907
tree-ring1919
1664 J. Evelyn Sylva 88 The Trunk or bough of a Tree being cut transversely plain and smooth, sheweth several Circles or Rings more or less Orbicular..one without the other.
1702 R. Neve Apopiroscopy i. 19 Of the Crincles or Rings which are seen at the end of Trees when Saw'd off.
1788 M. Cutler Jrnl. 6 Sept. in W. P. Cutler & J. P. Cutler Life, Jrnls. & Corr. M. Cutler (1888) I. 418 The Directors ordered..that a number of the largest and oldest trees be cut down, in order to count the rings.
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess v. 106 Then rode we..Beneath huge trees, a thousand rings of Spring In every bole.
1895 W. Schlich et al. Man. Forestry III. 73 To fell a tree and count the concentric rings on the stump..is easiest in the so-called ring-porey broad-leaved species.
1937 Geogr. Jrnl. 89 407 A dendrochronologist is a man who investigates the climate of the past by measuring the rings of trees.
1973 F. Sargeson Once is Enough 69 The severed end of the tree faced us; and its concentric rings..made it look like a sort of improvised target for distant shooting.
2005 J. Diamond Collapse (2006) iv. 138 If you cut down a tree today, it's straightforward to count the rings inwards, starting from the tree's outside (corresponding to this year's growth ring).
e. Astronomy. A flattened and very thin disc or band of material encircling Saturn in its equatorial plane, comprising ice particles and small quantities of rock dust and debris (now usually in plural). Also: a similar disc or band around any planet (also planetary ring).Saturn's ring system consists of several major rings separated by dark gaps, and it is now known to comprise thousands of narrow ringlets and many tiny moons (cf. ringlet n. 6). Narrow rings have also been identified around Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune.crape ring: see the first element.
ΚΠ
1665 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 1 72 The first that have well observed this Shadow of Saturn's Body upon its Ring.
1721 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. Ansae, Anses, are the various positions of the ring of Saturn.
1802 J. Playfair Illustr. Huttonian Theory 508 If..the ring is a solid annulus..it may be so constituted that the attraction of Saturn..may produce a force perpendicular to its surface.
1865 R. A. Proctor Saturn & Syst. 115 The only possible interpretation of the stability of the Saturnian rings.
1921 Amer. Midland Naturalist 7 104 The amount of momentum which a planetary ring could possess should be directly proportional to the amount of material in that ring.
1986 Sci. Amer. Nov. 36/2 As the spacecraft rounded Uranus..it was eclipsed by the planet's rings and the planet itself, an event called an occultation.
1994 Discover Apr. 91/1 Planetary rings also provide a handy model for the protoplanetary disk that circled our sun.
2004 Time Out N.Y. 8 July 8/3 Saturn's rings contain tens if not hundreds of tiny moons and moonlets, whose gravitational perturbations help shape the rings.
†f. A coil (of wire) as a unit. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [noun] > series of or form consisting of > of wire
ring1710
coil1823
1710 London Gaz. No. 4656/3 For Sale.., 226 Rings of fine Brass Wire (but 10 Rings in a Lot).
1799 D. Steel Steel's Tables of Brit. Custom & Excise Duties 114/2 (table) Rings of wire, loose, the ring.
†g. A thin layer of stone dividing layers of sand. Obsolete. regional.
ΚΠ
1712 J. Morton Nat. Hist. Northants. 129 Sand in three or four Layers, or Compartments divided from each other by thin Partitions of Stone, there [i.e. at Easton near Stamford] called Rings.
h. Any of the raised circular ridges around the base of the horns of cattle and other bovids, increasing in number with age. In later use more widely: (Zoology) any of various concentric or successive growth lines that develop on or in certain animal parts and may be used in determining age (also growth ring).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > bos taurus or ox > [noun] > (miscellaneous) parts of > (parts of) horn > mark indicating age
ring1725
nickc1810
1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique at Ox Some say, they can know their Age by their Horns, and that as many Rings as are about their Roots, so many Years old they are.
1776 J. Mills Treat. Cattle iv. ii. 292 These buttons become rings, or annular joints, which are easily distinguished in the horn.
1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. II. 1132 In the horn, the first ring or circle does not take place till three years old.
1847 W. C. L. Martin Ox 34/1 In some cows the rings are very imperfect, or not distinctly marked, and run into each other.
1885 S. Mucklebackit Rural Rhymes 113 Frae ilka horn risps aff the rings To ca' her young.
1915 R. S. Curtis Fund. Live Stock Judging & Select. x. 242 The age of cattle possessing horns may be determined by the rings which appear at the base.
1931 E. G. Boulenger Fishes i. 17 These ear bones or ‘otoliths’ bear concentric rings, each of which marks a year's growth, and so give a fair clue to the fish's age.
1953 H. Mellanby Animal Life in Fresh Water (ed. 5) xi. 249 Each year the size of the shell is increased by several ‘growth rings’..apparently about three rings represent one year's growth.
2002 Nature Conservancy Winter 53/4 To ascertain the age of a goby fish, one counts the rings around its tiny ‘ear bones’ or otoliths.
i. Botany and Mycology. = annulus n. 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > fungi > [noun] > parts of > cells and tissue
chive1721
spawn1731
mushroom spawn1753
volva1753
ring1777
veil1777
curtain1796
wrapper1796
fungin1813
subiculum1821
cortina1832
velum1832
mycelium1836
uterus1836
gleba1847
hypostroma1855
sulcus1856
rhizopod1859
tigellule1860
trichophore1860
hypha1866
hypothecium1866
rhizopodium1866
annulus1871
capillitium1871
acervulus1872
weft1875
capsule1883
clamp-connection1887
periphysis1887
chain gemma1893
trumpet hypha1900
metula1915
monokaryon1935
1777 J. Lightfoot Flora Scotica II. 730 When the operculum falls off, the capsule appears remarkably truncated, with a wide orifice, destitute both of ring and cilia.
1859 T. Moore Brit. Ferns 12 The..spore cases..are mostly minute roundish-oval bodies, containing one cavity, and nearly surrounded by a jointed vertical band called a ring.
1884 F. O. Bower & D. H. Scott tr. H. A. de Bary Compar. Anat. Phanerogams & Ferns 593 Between two bundles of a ring lies a radial band of intermediate tissue.
1907 J. Y. Bergen & B. M. Davis Lab. & Field Man. Bot. 107 134 Note..the flattened spore case consisting of thin-walled tissue except for a row of thick-walled cells along the margin, forming the ring (annulus).
1941 R. Headstrom Adventures with Microscope xxxix. 142 These are spore cases (sporangia), and..you will find each to consist of a little stalked circular body surrounded by a jointed ring (annulus)... When mature, this ring straightens hygroscopically.
2006 B. Russell Field Guide to Wild Mushrooms 10 A ring is the remnant of a veil, a membrane that extended from the edge of the cap to the stem when the mushroom was immature.
j. Archaeology. A circular prehistoric earthwork, usually consisting of a rampart or a bank and a ditch. Also in the names of structures. Cf. ring fort n. at Compounds 2a.
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society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > earthwork or rampart > [noun]
wallc900
banka1387
aggera1398
trench1445
braye1512
mantle-walla1522
werewalla1525
rampire1548
rampart1550
mound1558
mount1558
argin1589
vallie1602
earthwork1633
circumvallation1645
vallation1664
subtrench1669
epaulement1687
enceinte1708
ring1780
vallum1803
main-work1833
1780 H. Rooke Acc. Druidical Remains 6 Plate XVI. No. 9. is a plan drawn by a scale of 40 feet to an inch of a circular British work called Castle Ring... It has a deep ditch and double vallum.
1791 J. Sinclair Statist. Acct. Scotl. I. 77 There are many Pictish and Scotch encampments in this parish... All of them are of a round or oval figure, and are called rings by the common people.
1815 Wks. of Alexander Pennecuik 203 (note) One of those Rings, consisting of a ditch and earthen rampart, for the protection of cattle and other property.
1898 J. Heron Celtic Church 36 Some have a single ‘ring’ or rampart.
1921 E. C. R. Armstrong in G. Fletcher Ulster 116 Another earthwork of interest is the so-called ‘Giant's Ring’, at Drumbo... This enormous earthen ring is about 580 ft. in diameter, its rampart vanes from 10 to 20 ft in height, and is 80 ft thick at the base.
1996 F. D. Reno Hist. King Arthur vi. 196 Two possible defense systems exist near Charford. The more northerly one takes advantage of Soldiers Ring, Blagdon Hill, and Bokerly Dyke.
2005 B. Cunliffe Iron Age Communities Brit. (ed. 4) ii. iii. 41 At Mucking..two ditched enclosures of broadly similar date were discovered and largely excavated... The South Ring consisted of a double ditched enclosure of circular plan.
†k. A circular piece of clay used to separate items being fired in a kiln. Obsolete. rare.
ΚΠ
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 473 Pieces of clay of different sizes and shapes, called stilts, cockspurs, rings, pins, bats, &c. are put to keep them [sc. the glazed articles in the saggars] apart.
l. = head-ring n. 2.
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the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > jewellery > jewellery worn on the head > [noun] > hair ornaments > ring worn on hair of Zulu men
ring1835
1835 A. Smith Diary 27 July (1940) II. 131 The old ring-kop was speaking... This ring-kop was the person in charge of the party... None of the others had rings.
1836 A. F. Gardiner Narr. Journey Zoolu Country 100 Both men and women shave their heads close, the former leaving only sufficient to attach the issigoko, or ring.
1887 H. R. Haggard Allan Quatermain 15 Among the Zulus a man assumes the ring, which is made of a species of black gum twisted in the hair,..when he has reached a certain dignity.
1925 D. Kidd Essent. Kafir (ed. 2) 33 Only married men are allowed to wear this ring.
1995 I. Knight Zulu 1816–1906 17/1 When dry, the ring was polished with beeswax, and the hair around it shaved.
m. Building. A course of voussoirs.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > arch > [noun] > parts of > voussoir
voussoir1359
coussinet1726
wedge1726
ringpen1832
ring1839
wedge-stone1854
1839 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 2 69/1 Before the cement..had taken a set in the interior of the brickwork forming the ring [= voussoirs] of the arch.
1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 311/1 The ring when not of equal thickness is always made of least depth at the crown.
1921 Rep. N.Y. State Bridge & Tunnel Comm. 64 The ring is subdivided into voussoirs of equal length.
1961 J. Fitchen Constr. Gothic Cathedrals ii. 30 Temporary wooden centering was required only for the first ring of voussoirs; thereafter the first ring acted as permanent centering for the next order of the arch.
2005 L. C. Lancaster Concrete Vaulted Constr. in Imperial Rome vii. 138/2 The cut stone dome is like a three-dimensional arch where each successive ring acts as a keystone to lock the blocks into place.
†n. A circular spout in the shaft of a coal mine, used to collect and channel away any waste water. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > workplace > places where raw materials are extracted > mine > [noun] > shaft > part of to convey away water
ring1846
1846 W. E. Brockett J. T. Brockett's Gloss. North Country Words (ed. 3) Ring, a circular spout in the shaft of a coal pit for collecting the side feeders of water into a box.
1881 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1880–1 9 169 Ring, a gutter cut around a shaft to catch and conduct away the water.
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining Ring, a complete circle of tubbing plates placed round a pit-shaft.
†o. A type of net with a circular opening. Obsolete. rare.
ΚΠ
1882 Standard 26 Sept. 2/2 They [sc. whelks] are also caught in nets called ‘hoops’ or ‘rings’.
p. Chiefly Computing. A network or network architecture in which each node is linked to two others and the line of connections is closed. Chiefly used as a modifier.
ΚΠ
1934 Brit. Patent 417,183 2/1 If the resistance of the longer portion of the ring network is very great in comparison with that of the short part of the ring the relay with the figure will not be sufficiently energized.
1947 S. A. Stigant Mod. Electr. Engin. Math. ix. 193 (heading) Interconnected Ring Network.
1972 D. J. Farber in Computer Communic. 365/1 The message is routed into the processor as well as being passed on down the ring.
1994 Computer Weekly 1 Sept. 30/2 Token-passing or ring topologies solve bus delay but introduce queuing delays as the end station waits for its turn with the token.
2003 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 14 Oct. 8 Traditional ring networks are ‘fairly dumb’ and can take months to be installed.
q. slang. The anus. to spew one's ring (and variants): to vomit violently.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > digestive disorders > have digestive disorder [verb (intransitive)] > vomit
spewc897
vomea1382
brake1393
perbreak?a1400
castc1440
envomish1480
parbreak1495
vomita1500
to cast the crawa1529
to cast (up), heave, spue up, vomit one's gorgea1529
galpa1535
to cast out1561
puke1586
purge1596
void1605
to jerk, shoot, whip the cat1609
rid1647
to flay the fox1653
posset1781
to shoot the cat1785
to throw up1793
throw1804
cascade1805
reject1822
yark1867
sick1924
to toss (also shoot, blow, etc.) one's cookies1927
to lose a dinner (or a meal)1941
to spew one's ring1949
chunder1950
barf1960
upchuck1960
yuck1963
ralph1966
to go for the big spit1967
vom1991
the world > life > the body > digestive or excretive organs > digestive organs > intestines > [noun] > large intestine > rectum > anus
fundamentc1325
tewelc1386
arseholea1400
hindwina1400
eyec1405
anus?a1425
nachec1440
bung-hole?a1560
siege1561
vent1587
touch-hole1602
nockhole1610
bumhole1611
dung gate1619
asshole1865
cornholec1920
okole1938
chuff1945
ring1949
ring-piece1949
buttholea1960
rump1959
brown eye1967
poephol1969
1949 E. Partridge Dict. Slang (ed. 3) 1154/1 Ring,..anus (also ring-piece): low: late C. 19–20.
1952 T. A. G. Hungerford Ridge & River 130 ‘I'd get shot in the ring, that's what I'd get,’ said Wallace.
1965 J. R. Stow Merry-go-round in Sea 174 I bet I would have booted him in the ring if he hadn't run.
1966 K. Amis Anti-death League i. 32 Then the technique is to slip him a glass of Scotch or whatever he's hooked on about half a minute before the emetine makes him spew his ring.
1978 R. Busby Garvey's Code iii. 28 We just left the husband and he's bringing his ring up.
1999 T. Lott White City Blue (2000) 107 Mine too. Looked like I'd spewed my ring.
r. Cycling. = chain ring n. (b) at chain n. Additions. Usually with modifying word or numeral indicating size or position.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicle propelled by feet > [noun] > cycle > parts and equipment of cycles > chain
roller1863
bicycle chain1889
bike chain1897
ring1974
1974 Pop. Mech. July 24 Converting to a triple chain-wheel, with an intermediary 42 ring, can give you smaller incremental gear selections.
1992 Bicycle Feb. 92 85/1 A series of helper teeth..support the chain as it is lifted up the inner side of the middle ring.
2006 Hoosier Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 8 Oct. (Herald-Times ed.) a3/5 ‘Are you riding on your big ring?’: Are you in the highest gear?
8.
a. A circular mark or band. rings round (also under) the eyes: a darkened appearance of the skin near the eyes, resulting from tiredness, illness, etc. ring round the bath (also bathtub) (and variants): a dirty water-level mark left on the inside of a bath, etc. Also: = fairy ring n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [noun] > circularity > a circle > a circular spot or mark
ringeOE
areole1856
the world > health and disease > ill health > blemish > [noun] > discoloration > circles round eyes
blue eyea1545
circle1847
ring1850
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. xlv. 112 Wiþ nædran slite..nim þa agrimonian, gewyrc anne hring ymb þone slite utan, ne oferstihð hit furþor.
OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Corpus Cambr.) (1900) iii. xii. 196 Ymb hine [hi] gemearcodon anne hring on þære eorðan & heton, þæt he nænige þinga mid his fet þone hring ne oferstope.
a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) iv. l. 869 Aboute here eyen two a purpre ryng Bytrent, in sothfast tokenynge of here peyne.
1563 W. Fulke Meteors v. f. 68v Those round circles, which are seen in many fieldes, that ignoraunt people affirme to be the rynges of the fayries danses.
1626 Maldon (Essex) Court Rolls (Bundle 108, No. 9) A tall darkeish graye gelding, having two white ringes, abowt each eare one.
1666 J. Beale Let. 28 Apr. in R. Boyle Corr. (2001) III. 158 The Countrey people call the verdant rings, which appeare in the pastures in the Spring, Faeryes dances.
1675 London Gaz. No. 1014/4 A Green Parraketto, with a black and red Ring about his Neck, lost.
1729 R. Savage Wanderer iii. 61 To frolick Fairies marks the mazy Ring, Forth to the Dance from little Cells they spring.
1832 E. Bulwer-Lytton Eugene Aram I. i. x. 160 The mystic ring on the soft turf.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam lxxxv. 126 One would aim an arrow fair,..And one would pierce an outer ring, And one an inner. View more context for this quotation
1850 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis II. vii. 70 The rings round his eyes were of the colour of bistre.
1911 O. Onions Widdershins 270 The bistred rings that weeks of nursing had put under her dark eyes.
1925 R. T. Rolfe & F. W. Rolfe Romance of Fungus World ii. 10 It was a further popular belief that even by stepping inside the rings, one would put oneself within the fairies' power.
1932 Pop. Sci. Monthly Oct. 88/2 If preferred, a bull's-eye may be marked on the ground and scoring rings used, but there should be a stake in the center to aim at.
1937 Pop. Mech. Aug. 217/2 From the ring around the bathtub engineers have learned how to prevent the ‘drowning’ of oil wells with water.
1985 D. Lucie Hard Feelings i. in Progress & Hard Feelings 58/2 Even the dirt in the corners is mine. The ring round the bath is mine.
2005 L. Spiegler Amethyst Road xi. 131 There were dark rings under his eyes, and the scrape on his face stood out, red and puckered.
b. A circle, or circular band, of light or colour; esp. one seen surrounding the sun or moon (= halo n. 1a).
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the world > matter > light > [noun] > ring or sphere of
ringeOE
photosphere1664
armilla1675
halo1813
the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [noun] > a circle or ring > of light or colour
ringeOE
eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) v. xiv. 131 Mon geseah ymbe þa sunnan swelce an gylden hring.
OE Phoenix 305 Is ymb þone sweoran, swylce sunnan hring, beaga beorhtast bregden [read brogden] feðrum.
a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Lansd.) (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Washington) (1965) 11475 (MED) A cercle of golde þer-wiþ al Aboute þe sunne shyne shal..Aboute þe sunne þe golden ryng Shal be-token þat he is king.
1648 H. Hexham Groot Woorden-boeck Den Ringh om de Mane, the Ring or the Circle about the Moone.
1697 tr. L. D. Le Comte Mem. Journey China 491 Because the apparent Discus of the Sun, was at that time bigger than that of the Moon, there was seen in the Heavens, a bright Ring, or a great Circle of Light.
1737 G. Smith Curious Relations I. iv. 550 Incircled with an Armilla or Ring of Light.
?1768–9 Encycl. Brit. (1771) I. 440/1 They likewise..saw a luminous ring round the body of Venus.
1813 J. M. Good et al. Pantologia Rings of colours, in optics, a phænomenon first observed in thin plates of various substances.
1858 Mercantile Marine Mag. 5 354 A large ring round the moon, formed of light clouds.
1871 D. G. Rossetti Last Confession 129 The rings of light quivered like forest-leaves.
1923 J. F. Dobie in J. F. Dobie Coffee in Gourd (1979) 96 These border folk, like the sailors, believe in the weather significance of a ring around the moon, la casa de la luna (the moon's house) as the Mexicans call it.
1954 G. Jordan Home Below Hell's Canyon iii. 49 I could..see the ring of light where the chimney tile came up through the floor.
1989 E. F. Provenzo & A. B. Provenzo 47 Easy-to-do Classic Sci. Exper. iii. 36 Have you ever noticed the rings of color floating in a patch of oil-covered water in a puddle on the road? The colored rings can also be observed in soap bubbles when light falls on their thin films.
2003 A. Geyer Whispers in Dust & Bone 3 I sit on a diesel cargo boat on the Amazon River somewhere between Yurimaguas and Iquitos, staring up at the ring around the moon.
c. One of the expanding concentric circular ripples caused by something falling or being dropped or thrown into still water.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > wave > types of waves > [noun] > small wave or ripple > caused by something entering still water
ring1646
1646 H. More Democritus Platonissans Particular Interpret. sig. D6 Circulation, The terme is taken from a toyish observation, viz. the circling of water when a stone is cast into a standing pool. The motion drives on circularly, the first rings are thickest, but the further they go they grow the thinner, till they vanish into nothing.
1665 R. Hooke Micrographia ix. 57 A Sphere, which will..grow bigger, just after the same manner..as the waves or rings on the surface of the water.
1780 Ode to Memory Captain J. Cook ii. 17 The rippling Eddies form succeeding Rings, And the last Circle—dies upon the Tide.
1821 J. Clare Village Minstrel I. 125 The rings went whirling round Till they touch'd the flaggy bank.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. i. 229 When a stone is thrown into calm water a series of rings spread themselves [etc.].
1918 Outing Jan. 248/2 By scores and hundreds they are making rings in the water as they disappear.
1948 C. F. Macintyre tr. P. Verlaine Sel. Poems 43 A low crowd make rings in the water, fishing with line and rod.
2006 S. D. Kirkpatrick Revenge T. Eakins ii. xv. 144 Each rower leaves a trail of perfectly intact rings and ripples where the oars have been placed in the water or brushed its surface.
d. An excision of bark made round a branch or the trunk of a tree. Cf. ring v.2 9b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > [noun] > removing bark from trees > removing circle of bark
ring1700
girdling1792
ringing1816
girdle1825
notch-ringing1884
ringbarking1938
1700 C. Leigh Nat. Hist. Lancs. ii. i. 29 A Scotch-Firr of three Years growth, having a Ring of the Bark cut off of the breadth of three inches.
1817 Trans. Hort. Soc. London 2 266 He..reduced the rings to between one eighth and two eighths of an inch in width,..and the trees did well.
1822 J. Thacher Amer. Orchardist 28 With a sharp knife, cut a ring round the limb or small branch which you wish should bear..; let this ring or cut penetrate to the wood.
1902 H. Lawson Children of Bush 312 The tall gum-trees had been ring-barked (a ring of bark taken out round the butts), or rather ‘sapped’—that is, a ring cut in through the sap—in order to kill them.
2006 P. Schmidt Build your Kids Treehouse 25 One of the worst things you can do to a tree is to cut a ring around the trunk or a branch, or even bind it tightly with rope or cable.
e. The circular boundary in the game of marbles (see marble n. 11). Also occasionally: the game itself.
ΚΠ
1785 W. Cowper Tirocinium in Task 307 As happy as we once, to kneel and draw The chalky ring, and knuckle down at taw. View more context for this quotation
1792 S. Rogers Pleasures Mem. i. 142 On yon gray stone..we shot the marble thro' the ring.
1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. Ring, the name for a game at taw among boys, denominated from their drawing a ring or circle, in which the marbles are placed.
1866 R. Chambers Ess. 2nd Ser. 3 There was the floor on which..I had played at marbles, a pattern in the carpet serving as the ring.
1960 Folklore 71 170 The game is over when there are no more marbles in the ring.
2004 S. Krensky Arthur loses his Marbles vi. 33 Arthur shot—and managed to knock all of Fern's five marbles out of the ring.
f. A band of a contrasting colour, or one of a series of such bands, worn on the sleeve to indicate ranks, esp. officer ranks, in the armed services. Also: a band which designates rank in some comparable civil occupations.In the navy, the original use, the rings are gold-coloured.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military organization > insignia > [noun] > strap or band
strap1802
shoulder-strap1840
ring1878
1878 United Service Mag. Sept. 89 Witness the officers of the Imperial gunboat ‘Seiki’, now at Portsmouth, whose dress is exactly like our own, even to the distinguishing rings of rank.
1900 W. Jeffrey Cent. of Our Sea Story iv. 72 Gold rings on the coat cuffs, the number of rings according to the rank of the officer.
1942 R.A.F. Jrnl. 13 June 32 They were all of superior rank to myself... My solitary ring did not allow me to voice my suspicions.
1943 J. L. Hunt & A. G. Pringle Service Slang 55 Rings, abbreviated reference to an Officer's rank, denoted in the Navy and R.A.F. by the number of rings on his sleeve.
1950 ‘D. Divine’ King of Fassarai xv. 116 Bull's got more rings than I have. Why shouldn't he have his headaches too?
1952 M. Tripp Faith is Windsock i. 14 Now that Bergen has got his ring there doesn't seem so much point in staying N.C.O. with the others.
1976 ‘A. Hall’ Kobra Manifesto xvi. 218 The pilot stood there, a tall mahogany-faced type with four gold rings on his sleeve.
2003 I. Sumner Brit. Commanders World War II 60/1 Rank was indicated by a number of rings of braid, black silk with a pale blue line, around the cuff.
9.
a. The border, rim, or outer part of some circular object, esp. of a coin or a wheel.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > [noun] > of something round
rimeOE
ringa1350
roundel?a1425
engirting1599
umstroke1650
the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [noun] > annular quality > ring > forming outer part of circular thing
ringa1350
verge1573
rim1613
a1350 in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 99 (MED) Fortune..þe whel..torneþ to wo, fro wo into wele þat were, in þe ronynge rynge of þe roe þat renneþ so rounde.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 238 (MED) Edward did smyte rounde peny, halfpeny, ferthyng; þe croice passed þe bounde of alle þorghout þe ryng.
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 1850 (MED) We riden on þe rime & on þe ringe [Dublin renke] seten Of þe qwele of Fortoun.
?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 104v A Rynge of a carte qwele, cantus, haec est circumferencia rote.
1587 Acts Parl. Scotl. (1814) III. 522/1 That the bottom thairof [sc. the firlot] be corssit with irne naillit to the same and to the ryng.
1603 W. Shakespeare Hamlet ii. ii. 431 Pray God sir your voyce, like a peece of vncurrant Golde, be not crack't in the ring.
1649 W. Blith Eng. Improver xxv. 165 Two sides run upon a strait Line, which are those planted to the Ring of the Wheele, and to the Ladle-board.
1690 S. Blankaart Lexicon Novum Medicum Helix, the ring, or brim of the ear.
1699 in A. W. C. Hallen Acct. Bk. Sir J. Foulis (1894) 259 For saffer of the ring of the nave of on of the cart wheills.
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry xii. 280 The ring or round of the Wheel is more flat.
1784 J. Small Treat. Ploughs & Wheel Carriages 226 The blade is applied to the inner end of the nave, and reaches as far up as the ring of the wheel.
1837 Numismatic Jrnl. 1 225 The scull appears on this coin, and the ring is surrounded by a circle of dots or pellets.
1879 Locomotive Engineers' Monthly Jrnl. May 196/1 The ring of the coin is destroyed and the weight lessened.
1907 W. Raymond Bk. Crafts & Char. viii. 70 The spokes, you see, be of oak, but the felloes, those pieces that make up the outside wooden ring of the wheel, be of elm.
1974 Pop. Sci. Apr. 87/2 The inner end of the loop is fixed to the drive rod; other end is free to slide and push against the outer ring of the wheel.
2007 R. Giedroyc Everything Coin Collecting Bk. xviii. 252 The only ringed bimetal coin the United States issued is the commemorative 2000-P Library of Congress $10. This coin has a silver center with a gold ring.
b. The boundary of a forest or estate. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > boundary > [noun] > land-boundary
thresholdeOE
randeOE
markeOE
mereOE
limiting1391
march1402
confrontc1430
bourne1523
limity1523
mereing1565
mark-mere1582
ring1598
land-mere1603
limit1655
field boundary1812
landimere1825
section-line1827
wad1869
1598 J. Manwood Treat. Lawes Forrest i. f. 2 A Forrest doth..lie open.., hauing onely but meeres and boundaries to know the Ring and vttermost Skirtes of the Forrest by.
1834 T. D. Lauder Gilpin's Remarks Forest Scenery (new ed.) II. xiii. 50 There were formerly eight parks impaled within the ring of the forest.
1878 B. M. Ranking Bjorn & Bera iii. 87 I needs must shelter as I may Within the forest's ring.
1982 H. H. Glassie Passing Time in Ballymenone vii. xx. 550 Hedged fields encircle the home place, but other land is broken from the farm's ring.
c. Usually with capital initial. (A name for) any of various ring roads, spec. the Ringstrasse encircling the Viennese city centre.
ΚΠ
1868 W. Pembroke Fetridge Harper's Hand-bk. for Travellers in Europe & East 300/1 A ‘horse-railway’ has been laid around the old city in the elegant street called the ‘Ring’.
1917 Musical Q. 3 627 The present Fourth District of Vienna..was at that time outside the walls of the old town, already overflowing its ancient ramparts, which were demolished in 1859 to make way for the Ring.
1960 Times 31 May 11/6 Three new subways are being dug under the Ring to relieve the growing traffic congestion.
1981 M. C. Smith Gorky Park iv. 62 The tree-lined boulevards around the inner city. The Sedovoya Ring..the Outer Ring.
2005 World Highways Apr. 64 Tasked with re-routing traffic on the ring during the many phases of a two-year reconstruction project .
d. Cricket. The boundary of a cricket field.
ΚΠ
1872 Times 15 July 9/1 Mr. Miles effected the winning figure by a hit which sent the ball to the ring.
1903 P. F. Warner in H. G. Hutchinson Cricket iii. 67 It is a stroke that requires very accurate timing, but when timed well, the ball often goes to the ring like a flash of lightning.
1960 N.Y. Times 26 June s5/3 Colin Wesley, playing in his first test, fiercely hooked a bouncer by Freddie Trueman to the ring.
2000 Times (Nexis) 10 July The fourth-wicket pair took singles with hits straight to fielders on the edge of the ring.
†10. The meal scattered around a millstone, regarded as a perquisite of the miller. Also more fully mill ring (see mill n.1 Compounds 2). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation of grain > milling or grinding > [noun] > meal which falls between millstone and case
ring1410
1410 in C. Innes Registrum Episcopatus Brechinensis (1856) I. 84 Et solueret quilibet eorum unam firlotam ordei in anno pro ryngis.
1542 in J. B. Paul & J. M. Thomson Registrum Magni Sigilli Scotorum (1883) III. 669 Quod tenentes dictarum terrarum molerent sua grana apud molendinum de Lesmahago, solvendo multuras consuetas et lie ringis debit.
1599 in J. M. Thomson Registrum Magni Sigilli Scotorum (1890) VI. 324 Cum molendino..terrisque molendinariis, astrictis multuris et sequelis (lie dry fermes multuris alias ringis).
1669 Sc. Acts Parl. (1820) VII. 647 The..milne of Provand, milnelands, astrictit multers,..rings, sequells and pertinents thereof.
1794 Hatton Estate MSS in Sc. National Dict. (1968) VII. 451/1 And also pay the Knavship, Rings and Services with Water Corn to the New Miln.
1814 Session Papers, Abstr. of Proof conc. Mill of Inveramsay in J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. (1825) (at cited word) The Ring is the meal which, in the course of grinding, falls round the mill stone, between it and the wooden case surrounding it.
†11. Geometry. An annulus or other ring-like geometrical figure, as a circle, torus, etc. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [noun] > circularity > a circle > a concentric circle > space between concentric circles
ring1654
1654 J. Newton Institutio Mathematica i. 4 A Circle is a plain figure contained under one round line, which is called a circumference, as in the Figure following, the Ring CBDE is called the circumference of that Circle.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) at Crown In Geometry, Crown signifies a plain Ring included between two Concentric Perimeters.
1842 G. W. Francis Dict. Arts Ring,..a surface or solid; the space between one concentric circle or oval and another cut out of it. It may be either superficial or solid.
1906 Q. Jrnl. Pure & Appl. Math. 37 31 A ring is either the region bounded by two concentric circles, or is a region lying in such a ring.
12. A circular course in Hyde Park, London, used for riding and driving. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > [noun] > for horses or for riding > specifically in Hyde Park
ring1676
Rotten Row1761
ride1785
ring road1828
Ladies' Mile1848
1676 G. Etherege Man of Mode iii. ii. 43 All the World will in the Park to night: Ladies, 'Twere pity to..rob the Ring of all those Charms That should adorn it.
1693 Humours & Conversat. Town 119 We'll to Hide Park;..my Mother's Coach is below, and shall carry us, to make a Figure in the Ring.
1716 J. Addison Drummer iv. 40 Six as pretty Horses as any that appear in the Ring.
1780 R. B. Sheridan School for Scandal ii. ii. 19 You shall see her on a little squat poney,..puffing round the ring in a full trot.
1840 T. Hood Miss Kilmansegg i, in New Monthly Mag. 60 96 She has circled the Ring!—she crosses the Park!
1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair xlix. 437 That kind of company which..is known to exist as well as the Ring in Hyde Park or the Congregation at St. James's.
1920 G. F. Reynolds & G. Greever Facts & Backgrounds Lit. 369 Favorite meeting-places in the eighteenth century were St. James's Park, Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Ring in Hyde Park, and the space behind Montagu House, now the British Museum.
1999 T. A. King in A. P. Williams Image of Manhood in Early Mod. Lit. 126 To suggest that female courtiers displayed [Edward] Kynaston in the Ring at Hyde Park as a kind of rarity or monstrous spectacle is to suggest that they themselves identified fully with the category of gender.
III. An arrangement or group.
13.
a. A circle or circular group of people; spec. a circle of people in a dance. in a ring: in circular formation, arranged or grouped in a circle.In quot. OE in extended use with reference to the birds surrounding the phoenix.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > other specific arrangements > [noun] > arrangement in a group > a circular group of people
ringOE
round1489
rotund1636
circle1766
round O1845
the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [noun] > circularity > a circle > a circular formation > of persons or creatures
ringOE
round1489
the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [phrase] > in a circle or ring
in rounda1382
in a round1489
in a ring1772
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > other specific arrangements > arranged in other specific manner [phrase] > in a circle
in a round1489
in a ring1772
OE Phoenix 339 Ðonne fugla cynn on healfa gehwore [read gehwone] heapum þringað, sigað sidwegum.., ond swa þone halgan hringe beteldað flyhte on lyfte.
lOE Salisbury Psalter: Canticles x. 7 Gloriosus apostolorum chorus : wuldorful apostolan hring.
c1225 (?c1200) Hali Meiðhad (Bodl.) (1940) l. 297 Ha..schulen i widewene ring, biuore þe iweddede, singen in heouene.
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 163 Þus ich..Eede o Ring [a1300 Caius oringe; ?c1225 Cleo. on ring, a1250 Titus in Ring] i chirchȝard.
c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) 6100 (MED) Of Sarazins gret þreng About our Cristen made reng And hem biclepten in þat place.
c1350 Nominale (Cambr. Ee.4.20) in Trans. Philol. Soc. (1906) 9* F[emme]. treche mene pur deduyt, W[oman]. the ryng leduth for ioye.
c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 1110 Alisaundres folk com flynge, Fyue hundred vpon [a1425 Linc. Inn in] a rynge.
a1460 Knyghthode & Bataile (Pembr. Cambr. 243) 1540 (MED) The hors, and thei on foote of dignitee..in circuyte a rynge Shal make, and kepe of al hostilitie.
c1475 (a1449) J. Lydgate Order of Fools (Laud) in Minor Poems (1934) ii. 450 (MED) The tenthe fooll may hoppe vpon the ryng..and lede of riht the daunce.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid iv. iv. 37 Quhen Apollo list..ga..To vesy Delos..Renewand ringis and dancis, mony a rowt.
a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 790 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 119 Fair ladyis in ryngis Knychtis in caralyngis Boith dansis & syngis.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cclxxx They putting them selues into a ringe,..stand to their defence.
1592 R. Dallington tr. F. Colonna Hypnerotomachia f. 12v Dauncing in a ring, with theyr armes spred abrode, and hanfasted man, with man and woman with woman.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) iii. ii. 159 Make a Ring about the Corpes of Cæsar. View more context for this quotation
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 250 They all rise upright and put themselves into a Ring one behind another.
1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. iv. xiii. 236 When one of them has got a ring of Disciples round him.
1772 W. Jones Poems 127 The swains before them crouded in a ring.
1835 W. Irving Tour on Prairies xxv The ring being formed, two or three hunters ride towards the horses, who start off in an opposite direction.
1887 Pop. Sci. Monthly Oct. 743 The men squat in a ring around the net, and pick out with their fingers the objects that are entangled in it.
1926 Travel Nov. 35/2 The tortillas were baked, and a group of people were sitting in a ring on the ground, eating them.
1978 W. Tydeman Theatre in Middle Ages i. 14 One lyric in which girls dancing in a ring seem to tease the young men into joining them.
2008 P. Spierenburg Hist. Murder vi. 175 One-on-one street fights among young working-class women, around whom spectators also formed a ring.
†b. figurative (from dancing). to lead (also rule) the ring: to take the lead, to be foremost or first. Obsolete. Cf. ringleader n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > advance, progress, or develop [verb (intransitive)] > lead the way
to begin, lead the dancec1325
to lead (also rule) the ringa1450
to lead (bear, have) the vana1661
pioneer1780
to take up the running1825
blaze1841
to lead the way1874
a1450 (?c1343) R. Rolle Ego Dormio (Cambr.) in Eng. Writings (1931) 68 (MED) Suth þan es it sayde þat luf ledes þe ryng.
a1529 J. Skelton Speke Parrot in Certayne Bks. (?1545) sig. A.iiii Bo ho doth bark wel, but Hough ho he rulyth ye rig.
1578 Gude & Godlie B. (1867) 178 Lyke prince and king he led the ring Of all iniquitie.
1636 S. Rutherford Lett. (1863) I. lix. 159 Alexander Gordon shall lead the ring in witnessing a good confession.
a1656 Bp. J. Hall Invisible World (1659) iii. ii. 143 It was in all likelyhood some prime Angell of heaven, that first started aside from his station, and led the ring of this highest and first revolt.
c. A number of things arranged in a circle; a circular formation of things. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > other specific arrangements > [noun] > arrangement in a group > a circular group of things
ring1587
rounda1600
the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [noun] > circularity > a circle > a circular formation
circling1430
row1576
ring1587
rounda1600
circularity1646
1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. ii. 20 All [creatures] are so linked together, that the ring thereof cannot bee broken without confusion [Fr. toutes sont tellement enchainees d'en haut en bas, qu'vn anneau n'en peut manquer sans confusion].
1619 E. M. Bolton tr. Florus Rom. Hist. iii. vi. 288 They beheld the beak-heads of our clashing gallies charge in ring vpon them.
1675 N. Grew Compar. Anat. Trunks i. i. 4 A scalloped parenchymous Ring, or a Ring of many short and slender white Arches.
1785 W. Cowper Task i. 223 Environ'd with a ring of branching elms.
1820 P. B. Shelley Orpheus 2 Yonder pointed hill, Crowned with a ring of oaks.
1866 W. T. Brande & G. W. Cox Dict. Sci., Lit. & Art (new ed.) II. 508/2 Meteors,..small bodies revolving round the sun..congregated in several rings—tangible orbits, as it were.
1894 Labour Commission Gloss. (at cited word) In the potting industry what is called the first ring is composed of the bungs set next to the arches forming the first circle of ‘saggers’..in the oven.
1922 Pop. Sci. Monthly Nov. 59/2 A flag tower in the basin of a ring of hills was the objective of the closing lines.
1949 H. Wilcox Six Moons in Sulawesi viii. 187 These contrivances..had open necks and open bottoms, surrounded by rings of strong spikes.
1972 T. C. Lethbridge Legend Sons of God ii. 28 These rings of stones could have been used both as visible and invisible navigational beacons.
2002 D. Corriveau Inuit of Canada 29/2 These blocks were placed in a ring around the circle.
†d. A group of cattle arranged in a tight circle with the heads facing inwards to keep them from straying. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1830 Voice of Humanity Feb. 85 There is not room in the market to tie up the whole, or much more than half, of the bullocks to the rails; and the remainder stand in ‘rings’ or ‘off-droves’.
1850 Househ. Words 4 May 123/2 I have often seen their haunches streaming with blood..before they could get into the ring.
1912 Chambers's Jrnl. June 364/2 The only alternative to tying up was to form what were called ‘off-droves’ or ‘rings’—bunches of from fifteen to twenty cattle in a compact group heads inward.
e. Chemistry. A number of atoms bonded together to form a closed chain within a molecule, typically (in organic chemistry) five or six carbon atoms forming such a structure.benzene, lactam, pyrrole ring, etc.: see the first element. [In quot. 1865 after French chaine fermée (A. Kekulé 1865, in Bull. de la Soc. Chim. de Paris 3 98).]
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical structure or stereochemistry > [noun] > ring of atoms
nucleus1845
ring1869
closed chain1904
1865 Chem. News 16 Mar. 117/2 M. Kekulé..supposes that the six atoms of carbon may unite in such a way that either eight or six affinities remain unsaturated. From the latter combination, which the author designates a closed chain, aromatic substances are derived.]
1869 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. 22 361 The hydrocarbon benzole is of so much interest from its derivatives, that it has attracted a good deal of attention, and to explain its molecular constitution, the six atoms of carbon have been represented as arranged in a ring.
1889 G. M'Gowan tr. A. Bernthsen Text-bk. Org. Chem. 461 Phthalic acid or its derivatives ensue on the breaking up of the compound, not only from one but from both of the six-cornered rings.
1927 N. V. Sidgwick Electronic Theory of Valency xiv. 251 Only a very few chelate rings of more than six atoms have been observed.
1950 Thorpe's Dict. Appl. Chem. (ed. 4) X. 339/1 Treatment of pyrrole with hydroxylamine causes a smooth opening of the ring.
1964 N. G. Clark Mod. Org. Chem. ii. 21 Pyridine..has a structure very similar to that of benzene; the six-membered ring, however, contains a trivalent nitrogen atom.
1974 D. M. Adams Inorg. Solids vi. 183 Sulphur has quite a complex allotropy: the thermodynamically stable form consists of S8 crown-shaped rings in close-packed layers.
2007 Nature 22 Mar. 350/2 The bowls are molecules known as corannulenes, which contain aromatic rings of carbon atoms.
f. Cell Biology. A chromosome, group of chromosomes, or part of a chromosome in the form of a loop without free ends. Cf. ring chromosome n. at Compounds 2a.Such a structure is a normal condition in some prokaryotes but abnormal and unstable in most higher organisms, although sometimes briefly present during cell division.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > genetic components > [noun] > chromosome > group of chromosomes
tetrad1876
ring chromosome1895
genome1926
ring1949
1894 Rep. Brit. Assoc. Advancem. Sci. 339 Those constituting the individual loops or rings of the final division are far more numerous.
1913 J. W. Jenkinson Vertebr. Embryol. iv. 75 The chromosomes appear first, as beaded filaments of heterotypic form—rings, crosses, figures of eight, curved rods, and so on. Their number is that half-somatic or germ-number n.
1949 C. D. Darlington & K. Mather Elements of Genetics xii. 263 Oenothera lamarckiana, whose chromosomes normally form a ring of 12 and one pair.
1962 Lancet 29 Dec. 1384/1 Monosomic chromosomes may be subject to hazards in meiosis—from autosynapsis, leading to centric and acentric rings and fragments, to centric aberrations.
1998 Cancer Genetics & Cytogenetics 106 110 The small fragment found in one patient and the ring found in each of two other patients were chromosome 7-derived rings.
14. Chiefly U.S.
a. A group of people acting to further their own interests, esp. illegally. Usually as the second element in compounds specifying the type of activity engaged in.
ΚΠ
1823 ‘J. Bee’ Slang 212 Ring, the word was applied by the city officers to that connexion, circle, or secret understanding which is supposed to exist among the caddees of stage-coaches who are upon the lay—or kedge.
1836 J. Edwards Let. to Friends of Temperance 31 Nearly all the rum-sellers of extensive business relations have their warehouses here [sc. Boston]. The political power of the traffic emanates from this city. The ‘whiskey ring’ is here in force.
1904 Los Angeles Times 23 May 3/1 A drug ring which had been engaged in an extensive business of smuggling opium and morphine..to the convicts.
1929 ‘E. Queen’ Roman Hat Myst. vi. 87 We got faint inklings of a gigantic criminal ring, composed of ‘fences’, crooks, lawyers, and in some cases politicians.
1936 Washington Post 8 June 9/4 The first prosecutor to attempt to smash the city's prostitution ring.
1992 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 2 Dec. b6/2 Analysts distinguish between two types of shoplifters. One is a hard-core criminal who may be part of an organized shopping ring or who steals to support a drug habit.
b. spec. A group that attempts to manipulate politics or local affairs to further its own interests. Also with modifying word.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > party politics > a party > [noun] > political ring
ring1862
1862 Independent 13 Feb. 4/4 Parties..are more responsible in regard to the characters of those they nominate than are those venal cliques and profligate rings that are so apt to take the control of a merely local election.
1872 O. W. Holmes Poet at Breakfast-table vi The Tammany Ring, which is to take the place of the feudal lord.
1882 L. Stephen Swift 91 The war was the creation of the Whig ‘ring’.
1893 G. Smith Ess. 157 American citizens outside the political ring are ambitious of being great citizens.
1921 J. Bryce Mod. Democracies II. xliii. 104 Three unscrupulous lawyers, creatures or confederates of the Ring, were placed on the City Bench to facilitate its operations.
1955 J. M. Myers Doc Holliday ii. 117 He helped foil an effort to ruin the biggest gambling joint in town, which was taking the play away from one owned by the political ring.
2002 New Yorker 6 May 87/3 As a member of the Board of Supervisors, Tweed organized his first ring, which took a neat fifteen per cent off the top of every city contract.
c. spec. A group of people who monopolize and control a particular trade, market, auction, etc., as by buying or selling at agreed price levels. Also as the second element in compounds.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > trading organization > [noun]
common market1843
clique1855
syndicate1865
pool1868
ring1869
conference1894
cartel1902
holding company1906
price ring1914
trading bloc1922
club1950
1869 J. H. Browne Great Metropolis iii. 48 Stocks are what the brokers make them, and their varying rate is determined by a ‘ring’.
1880 Manch. Guardian 2 Nov. A ‘ring’ of Canadian producers obtained legislation which practically excluded all American oils from our market.
1896 T. E. Gordon Persia Revisited iii. 74 Next to the ‘wheat-ring’ as a cause of disturbance and riot comes what may be called the ‘copper-ring’ of Tehran.
1929 Times 31 Oct. 14/4 In order to safeguard the home consumer against exploitation by the producers' ‘rings’, which the coal-marketing schemes will establish, the Government will set up in every district a special committee to keep a watch on prices.
1936 Sun (Baltimore) 2 Dec. 3/1 In addition Thorp advocates..more stringent regulations of auction and sales rings.
1972 ‘M. Delving’ Shadow of Himself ii. 24 ‘I don't doubt there'll be a ring,’ he added, bitterly... He was referring to the system by which several dealers agree to let one of their number bid for all, thus cutting down the competition and squeezing out opposition.
1999 L. Fairstein Cold Hit 105 Some of the biggest art dealers in the city have formed a ring agreeing not to bid against each other on paintings in which they all have an interest.
d. An organization or network of people engaged in espionage. Chiefly in spy ring n. at spy n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > secret observation, spying > [noun] > an organization of spies
net1869
ring1901
cloak and dagger1946
spy network1977
1901 Chambers's Encycl. VIII. 571/1 Surrounded by a ring of spies..he [sc. Sir Walter Raleigh] again intrigued for an escape to France, but was betrayed at every step.
1918 Photoplay Mag. Feb. 110/2 A young woman whose elder brother was a rampant pacifist, and who thereby became a tool of a ring of German spies.
1961 R. Seth Anat. Spying iii. 45 In a very short time counter-espionage knew the names and whereabouts of all twenty-six members of the ring.
1981 R. Airth Once a Spy xii. 139 When Franklyn's ring broke up..I went back to work for Bonn.
2008 K. Macrakis Seduced by Secrets iv. 87 High-profile cases like the John Walker spy ring..drew public attention to the greedy, naval officer who traded secrets for more than a million dollars from the KGB.
15. Mathematics [After German Ring (also Zahlring; D. Hilbert 1897, in Jahresbericht der Deutsch. Math.-Vereinigung 4 237).] A set of elements with two binary operations (typically called addition and multiplication) which is a group under addition and closed under multiplication, with multiplication being distributive over addition and associative.A ring is sometimes also required to have an identity element for multiplication.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > numerical arrangement > [noun] > set > in abstract algebra > ring
ideal1898
principal ideal1901
ring1915
subring1917
skew field1965
1915 Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 16 502 The ring of the rational g-adic numbers.
1935 Ann. Math. 36 406 It is only in integrally closed rings like in the theory of algebraic numbers that the decomposition theorems naturally take on a multiplicative form.
1968 D. G. Northcott Lessons on Rings, Modules & Multiplicities i. 1 When we speak of a ring it is to be understood that we always mean a ring with an identity element.
2004 C. C. Faith Rings & Things (ed. 2) i. 4 We are assuming that a ring R has a multiplicative identity element.
IV. A course or space.
16.
a. A circular or spiral course or orbit. in a ring, †in ring: in a circle. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement in circle or curve > [noun] > movement in circle > circular course
ringeOE
virona1380
environa1382
roundness?c1425
circuit1483
orbicular1523
round1539
bouta1542
rundle1574
ring road1828
orbit1831
ring-around1894
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement in circle or curve > moving in circle or curve [phrase] > in circular course
in rounda1382
round and round1565
in ring1674
eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in W. G. Stryker Lat.-Old Eng. Gloss. in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1951) 341 Orbes orbibus, hringa hohhwyrfinge.
OE Paris Psalter (1932) lxiv. 12 Þonne þu geares hring mid gyfe bletsast and þine fremsumnesse wylt folcum dælan.
OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) v. xix. 470 Sona [he] sende geond eall his rice, & het writan & leornian & healdan þurh ealle Peohta mægðe þa nigontynlican hringas rihtra Eastrana [L. circuli Paschae decennovenales].
OE tr. Felix St. Guthlac (Vesp.) (1909) xxi. 172 Ær sunne twelf monða hringc [L. annilem orbem] utan ymbgan hæbbe, þu wealdest þises rice[s].
1566 J. Studley tr. Seneca Agamemnon iii. sig. Dvi The frolyck fyshe..about the seas doth swym, With gamballs quick in rings around.
1589 ‘Pasquill of England’ Countercuffe sig. Aiij How my Palfrey..daunced the Goates iumpe, when I ranne the ring round about him to retriue him.
1609 C. Butler Feminine Monarchie vi. sig. H3 One of the Bees.., when she hath cast a ring to know where shee is, will fly as directly home as the other.
1674 N. Fairfax Treat. Bulk & Selvedge 91 As for their motion in ring or circular.
1714 E. Young Force of Relig. ii. 200 Decrepid winter, in the yearly ring, Thus slowly creeps, to meet the blooming spring.
1728 J. Thomson Spring 31 Wide around,..in airy Rings they rove.
1781 W. Cowper Anti-Thelypthora 32 They sport like wanton doves in airy rings.
1819 P. B. Shelley Rosalind & Helen 60 Circles of life dissolving sounds,..in aery rings they bound.
1837 T. Hood in Comic Ann. 146 You're nothing near the thing! You only argy in a ring.
1881 Macmillan's Mag. Nov. 40 Others [of the larks]..go gaily up in circular rings, ‘ringing’ as the falconers call it.
1953 M. Irwin Elizabeth & Prince of Spain iv. 60 They joined hands and dragged each other round and round in a ring.
1994 D. F. Wallace Getting Away in Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again (1997) 105 A lot of cows move in a ring around the perimeter of the dirt circle.
†b. to trot (also gallop) rings. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > special movements performed by trained horse > [noun] > circular movement
to trot rings1566
volte1727
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > special movements performed by trained horse > perform special movements [verb (intransitive)] > go round in a circle
to trot (also gallop) rings1566
lunge1833
1566 T. Blundeville Arte of Rydynge (rev. ed.) ii. xxvii. f. 49, in Fower Offices Horsemanshippe In whiche thinges he must be made perfect before, by often trottinge the ringes in suche order as is before taught.
1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge i. iii. sig. B2 And now Auroras horse trots azure rings.
1616 G. Markham Cheape & Good Husb. (new ed.) ii. 20 When he will trot his Rings well, then in the same manner..you shal make him gallop the same rings.
1674 C. Cotton Compl. Gamester xxii. 180 Having taught him to trot the large rings perfectly, which will not require above four or five days; then in the same manner and changes make him gallop the same rings.
1778 G. Tollet in S. Johnson & G. Steevens Plays of Shakspeare (rev. ed.) I. 282 Markham uses this word [sc. via] as one of the vocal helps necessary for reviving a horse's spirits in galloping large rings, when he grows slothful.
†c. Hunting. A circling run. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting with hounds > [noun] > type of run
wanlacea1425
ring1717
point1789
line1836
1717 W. Churchill October 54 Hunt circling Hares, or wily Foxes chase, Their mazy Rings, and fly Meanders trace.
1810 Sporting Mag. 35 300 After a severe ring under the hill, followed by a fine run over the heath.
1813 Sporting Mag. 41 205 A fine dog fox was soon unkenneled, and after making a ring in the plantation, he broke away.
1887 Baily's Monthly Mag. Apr. 229 Most of them run rings, know very little country, from being artificially fed, and are easier caught than a good Jack-hare.
1924 C. D. Lanier We go Foxhunting Abroad 129 True to Ireland and the County Cork, the fox made a ring during these operations.
d. figurative. colloquial. to run (also make) rings round (also around): to excel or surpass (a person or animal) with the greatest ease; to beat or outwit easily; to outclass. Also in partially literal uses.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > have or gain mastery or superiority over [verb (transitive)] > overcome or defeat > easily
to eat (also have) (a person or thing) for breakfast1693
to walk over (the course)1823
to run (also make) rings round (also around)1875
to shut out1881
to walk away from1883
to walk round1901
to roll over1937
to walk (all) over (a person)1976
1875 Coursing Cal. Autumn 1874 180 Ace-of-Trumps was immensely her superior, making rings round her, and winning all one way.
1891 Argus (Melbourne) 10 Oct. 13/3 Considine could run rings round the lot of them.
1894 G. Parker in Westm. Gaz. 7 July 1/3 He could run rings round us in everything.
1907 P. G. Wodehouse White Feather viii. 88 Dexter's had taken thirty points off the School House just after half-time. ‘Mopped them up,’ said the terse and epigrammatic Painter. ‘Made rings round them.’
c1928 T. E. Lawrence Lett. (1938) 572 It riles me unbearably to lose my scalp to a lot of fellows round whom I can make rings.
1935 H. Broun in T. R. Cook Ess. Mod. Thought 65 Princeton, let us say, has just run rings around Harvard. The final whistle has blown.
a1953 J. O'Neill Black Shore (2000) xii. 98 I could never have done anything with Michael. He could make rings around me, but this high-head—yes, he'll be easy to handle.
1973 ‘D. Jordan’ Nile Green xxxiv. 167 The deal's been bust... The Russians ran rings round us.
1980 Times Lit. Suppl. 27 June 724/2 Balfour was an undeniable flop and Joseph Chamberlain made rings round him.
1993 P. J. Hugill World Trade since 1431 (1995) i. 20 By 1588, when the Armada sailed against England, the Spanish were horrified to encounter English ships that literally ran rings round them.
2005 B. Hoskyns Hotel Calif. vii. 131 Whereas Lou Adler had been the tall, dark godfather of Hollywood pop in the previous decade, now this short, slim New Yorker was running rings around everybody in the business.
17.
a. An enclosed usually circular space within which some sport, performance, exhibition, or competition takes place, often one involving riding or some other activity with animals.In early quots. frequently used allusively. Also as the second element of compounds, as bullring n. 2, circus-ring at circus n. Compounds 1, parade ring n. at parade n.1 Compounds 2, show ring n. at show n.1 Compounds 3, etc.; see also three-ring circus n. at three adj. and n. Compounds 3b.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > place for sports or games > [noun]
ring?a1400
rink1489
game place1542
playing field1583
rink-room1594
stadium1603
cirque1644
xystus1664
amphitheatre1710
field1730
grandstand1754
chunk-yard1773
sports ground1862
park1867
sports field1877
pitch1895
close1898
sports centre1907
padang1909
sports stadium1911
bowl1913
field house1922
sportsdrome1951
sports complex1957
astrodome1964
dome1965
sportsplex1974
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > a public show or spectacle > [noun] > place for public shows > circus
ring?a1400
circus1546
cirque1601
dog-and-pony show1885
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. l. 11586 Þat we haf, I set at nouht bot þe Romeyns to rounge [a1450 Lamb. ryng] be brouht [Fr. se nus les Romains ne vencum].
a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) ix. 652 (MED) Next cam Gisulphus to Bochas on the ryng.
a1500 (?a1400) Sir Torrent of Portyngale (1887) 2454 (MED) The castell court was large with in; They made ryngis ffor to Ren.
1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge Prol. sig. A2v If any heart Pierc't through with anguish, pant within this ring.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 323 Virgill also describeth a swift and sluggish horsse most excellently in these verses; sending one of them to the Ring, and victory of running.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 101 The Lapythæ..taught the Steed to bound; To run the Ring, and trace the mazy round. View more context for this quotation
1740 W. Somervile Hobbinol iii. 227 Room for the Master of the Ring; ye Swains!
1798 J. Lawrence Philos. & Pract. Treat. Horses II. ii. 101 A horse which has a will of his own, may be in some degree reclaimed by being frequently lunged around a ring, as is the custom in breaking colts.
1854 C. Dickens Hard Times i. ii. 6 They do break horses in the ring.
1860 Trans. N.Y. State Agric. Soc. 1859 19 453 The ring in which they show their paces, some three-eighths of a mile in circuit, is constantly surrounded by a close packed hedge of interested spectators.
1883 J. Parker Tyne Chylde 274 The sawdust ring of a bankrupt circus.
1932 E. Hemingway Death in Afternoon xiii. 150 A querencia is a place the bull naturally wants to go to in the ring; a preferred locality.
1962 J. Selby-Lowndes How Circus Works iii. 32 Horses crowded the ring, there were fabulous processions of wild animals.
1984 New York 15 Oct. 56/1 What's offered: English tack; flat, dressage, and jumping lessons; fifteen school horses; indoor ring; outdoor ring; trail rides; horse shows.
2005 T. Budworth Wilby vii. 54 I know what you mean—where the poor dogs have to be cooped up all day on a bench so that the public can gawp at them, and then trot round a ring like obedient slaves!
b. An enclosed or clear space in an auction, used to display livestock, etc., prior to sale. in the ring: at auction.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > trading place > place of auction > [noun] > enclosure for livestock
ring1825
sale ring1901
sale-yard1901
1825 Atheneum: Spirit of Eng. Mags. 15 May 130/1 Trials are allowed in the yard and the ring, which is a very convenient ride.
1890 Daily News 7 Jan. 2/1 Now..a London merchant who wishes to purchase iron can walk across to the metal market where his iron will be purchased publicly in the open ring.
1901 Scotsman 3 Apr. 7/3 Irish cattle met a somewhat stiff trade in the ring, but a good clearance was afterwards got privately.
1962 Salisbury (Maryland) Times 12 July 4/8 The pinhooker persuades the farmer to sell [his livestock] for less than he would get in the ring.
2002 J. Gray in V. Amit Realizing Community iii. 54 For the bidding, each tup is herded into the ring individually by its breeder.
†c. A prison yard. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun] > yard
prison yard?1640
yard1777
ring1898
compound1946
1898 O. Wilde Ballad of Reading Gaol 7 And I and all the souls in pain, Who tramped the other ring.
18.
a. A space, originally defined by a circle of spectators, now within a roped square on a raised platform, for a boxing match, wrestling match, etc. Also more fully boxing ring (see boxing n.2), wrestling ring (see wrestling n. Compounds 1). Also with the: boxing as an institution or a profession; also collective: those interested in boxing. See also prize ring n.The ‘ryng’ in the example of a1400 given in Middle Eng. Dict. is probably the prize (cf. a ram and a ring as the prize in other early references to wrestling).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > [noun] > place
ring1654
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > boxing > [noun]
defence1549
pugilation1656
fencing1692
boxing1693
the (noble, also manly) art of self-defence1724
noble art1749
bruising1750
ring1770
noble science1778
pugilism1788
sparring1797
the sweet science1810
the fancy1820
pugilistics1820
pugnastics1830
fista1839
scrapping1891
ring-work1899
no contest1922
1654 M. Stevenson Occasions Off-spring 93 (title) To a drunken Porter reeling into the Ring to wrastle with a Taylor.
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew A Ring, a Concourse of People for Wrestling [etc.].
1726 True & Exact Acct. Lives E. Burnworth, &c. 5 The Ring in More-Fields, kept by one Frasier, for Cudgel-Playing, Wrestling, &c.
1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch Lives II. 5 A master of the gymnastic art attends a young man to fit him for the ring.
1812 Sporting Mag. 39 96 He did not wrestle with such luck, through the ring, for the first prize, as the champion.
1841 G. Borrow Zincali II. iii. 152 To converse with the pugilists of the ring, and the jockeys of the racecourse.
1896 G. M. Stisted True Life R. F. Burton vii. 165 In fact, England [in 1855] was, in the parlance of the ring, getting her second wind.
1937 W. D. Frank In Amer. Jungle i. v. 32 Was it to see two boxers, bobbing in a white-roped ring?
1970 Ebony Oct. 164/1 Men have been killed in the ring and, so long as boxing continues, men will be killed in the ring.
1997 E. J. Gorn in S. W. Pope New Amer. Sport Hist. iii. ix. 233 Spectatorship provided vicarious compensation for the destruction of traditional skills in the workplace. This can be seen in the very language of the ring.
2006 A. O. Edmonds Muhammad Ali viii. 115 According to boxing tradition, Ali, as challenger, would be first to enter the ring.
b. An enclosed space in a racing ground where bookmakers gather to take bets; originally defined by a circle of owners and others; also more fully betting ring (see betting n.1 Compounds). Also with the: the bookmaking profession.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > betting > [noun] > betting place
wager-hall1691
wagering-post1696
wager-office1723
betting-post1771
ring1775
betting room1793
betting ring1822
Tattersall1836
betting office1852
betting shop1852
betting-house1853
pool room1861
list shop1875
list house1902
tote-shop1906
silver ring1921
bookmaker1923
bookie1936
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > betting > [noun] > book-making > book-maker > collectively
ring1775
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > racecourse > [noun] > enclosed space frequented by bookmakers
ring1775
1775 G. Selwyn Let. 8 Dec. in 15th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS App. vi. 306 in Parl. Papers 1897 (C. 8551) LI. 1 The devil a bit will he ever part with, but by putting it into the Ring, where he is nicked, and the money gone.
1822 Sporting Mag. 10 4/2 Mr. Bayzand was well known in the ring as a betting man.
1822 Sporting Mag. 10 192/2 He never opened his mouth in the ring under five hundred.
1845 B. Disraeli Sybil I. i. ii. 12 ‘Will any one do anything about Hybiscus?’ sang out a gentleman in the ring at Epsom.
1859 G. A. Sala Twice round Clock (1861) 204 A shaven grass-plat of circular form. This is the famous ‘Ring’, of which you have heard so much.
1874 Hotten's Slang Dict. (rev. ed.) 270 Ring, the open space in front of a racecourse stand, which is used for betting purposes.
1894 Westm. Gaz. 13 Sept. 2/2 ‘The Ring’ had scarcely any existence as a constituted host such as it now is before 1842.
1922 R. Lynd Sporting Life ii. 22 The bookmakers stood in the ring as in a desert, dismal and silent most of them, under umbrellas.
1930 E. Wallace Calender (2008) 41 Even by the rough and ready code of the ring he was a blackguard.
2005 W. Vamplew & J. Kay Encycl. Brit. Horseracing 52 Rails' betting thus is often on credit whereas cash rules in the ring.
c. to keep the ring: †(a) to keep order among spectators gathered round to watch a fight or performance, to keep spectators at a required distance (obsolete); (b) (also to hold the ring) to be a spectator at a fight; to stand by while others quarrel; chiefly figurative; (c) (also to hold the ring) to continue victorious or hold one's own in a series of fights; also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (intransitive)] > look on or spectate
to look onOE
to look upona1470
to keep the ring1798
to play the gallery1870
spectate1929
1798 R. Cumberland tr. Aristophanes Clouds in Comedies of Aristophanes 59 We have no old man Arm'd with a staff to practise manual jokes On the by- standers' ribs, and keep the ring For them who dance the chorus.
1828 Sporting Mag. Oct. 448/1 Eight pugilists were engaged specially to keep the ring, and everything went off as it should do.
1829 P. Egan Boxiana New Ser. II. 678 At least 500 Irishmen, armed à la shilelah, kept the ring.
1850 N. Brit. Rev. 13 278 The Parliament House probably never saw—and may never see again—such a brotherhood of legal talent as the Whig lawyers of 1815; Clerk , Clanstoun, Jeffrey, Moncreiff, Cockburn, Fullerton, formed a phalanx, who for years kept the ring against all comers, and neither feared nor found competitors.
1853 M. Parkyns Life in Abyssinia I. xix. 236 I travelled with them for some days,acting as his assistant, my duty being to keep the ring, which I did by gracefully swinging round me two wooden balls covered with red cloth.
1858 Q. Rev. July 17 During the civil war they fell under the ‘Presbyterian model’,..yet were never fermented with the general passions of the mob. They ‘kept the ring’, to borrow an illustration from the pugilists.
1905 Spectator 21 Jan. 79/1 There is a cynicism which nothing but conscious impotence could excuse in the thought of ‘keeping a ring’ while the Bulgarians of the Principality..are drawn into a life-and-death struggle with the Turks.
1928 Britain's Industr. Future (Liberal Industr. Inq.) iii. xv. 166 There are still many people who hold that the State ought not to meddle with industry,..but should confine itself to holding the ring while the disputants fight out their differences.
1957 P. S. Florence Ind. & State iv. 69 Gradually, the Company Acts advanced from the role of keeping the ring between independent traders and guarding mainly against fraud, towards the role of defending..one party within an industrial organization from another.
1978 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts 126 400/1 Its [sc. Government's] task in the economic field is to hold the ring between the many popular pressures, frequently irreconcilable, which assert themselves.
2008 A. Hawkins Forgotten Prime Minister II. vii. 411 Derby hoped to hold the ring against Ultra Tory and radical extremes and resurrect the Canningite project.
d. Australian and New Zealand. The venue or area of play for the gambling game of two-up. Also: the players assembled for a two-up game. Also more fully two-up ring.
ΚΠ
1893 Bulletin (Sydney) 30 Jan. 15/2 Their joint capital ran to a blanket apiece and two spins in the two-up ring.
1920 Huon Times (Franklin, Tasmania) 21 May 5/2 The gamblers had left but little money on the ground as they took to their heels, but near the ‘ring’ the constable found a lunch bag.
1925 A. Wright Boy from Bullarah 18 From all around the ring head backers rose to gather in their winnings, and stake again on the next spin.
1935 A. E. Strong in E. Partridge Slang To-day & Yesterday (ed. 2) 287 Anyhow, to give you the fair dinkum guts I put across a beauty when I found the double-headed penny in the ring, and that's how I won 200 francs.
1948 V. Palmer Golconda iv. 26 ‘What's the trouble?’..‘Dirty work. That dago, Joe Comino, trying to ring in a..double-header. Macy Donovan was keeping the ring.’
1967 F. Hardy Billy Borker yarns Again 3 The gamblers sit around the square (which is called a ring).
2000 T. Costello & R. Millar Wanna Bet? i. iv. 64 It is devoid of local cultural input—even the two-up ring operates in restricted hours.
2005 S. Gorman Brotherboys iii. 206 Above the men a fluorescent light illuminated a strange smoky halo above the fixated masculine ring. It was one of the two-up schools Jim frequented but on this night he was nowhere to be seen.
V. A measure.
†19. A measure of capacity used chiefly for lime, equal to half a bushel. Cf. hoop n.1 5a. Obsolete. [Apparently originally denoting a small tub or bucket (compare quot. 1457), and hence in origin a development from sense 7a.]
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > leather > leather-making materials > [noun] > tannin > tanning solutions > measure of
ring1291
1291 in L. F. Salzman Building in Eng. (1952) ix. 150 [Lime being bought in 1291 at the rate of 100] ringes [for 5s.].
1457 in L. F. Salzman Building in Eng. (1992) ix. 150 [At Chester the measure was the] ring [sc. a small tub or bucket]... [In 1457 ten] ryngez calcis [cost 2s.].
1542 in T. Wright Churchwardens' Accts. Ludlow (1869) 11 Item, to John Bube for iij. rynges of lyme..vj d.
1567 in T. Wright Churchwardens' Accts. Ludlow (1869) 125 One rynge of tanners lyme.
20. A measure of boards or staves (see quots.). Now rare. [Apparently after Middle Low German ring in the same sense, or perhaps an independent borrowing of this word.]
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > wood in specific form > [noun] > measure of cut wood
ring1597
cord1616
rick1787
1597 Acct. Bk. W. Morton f. 22 For ane half ryne cnapehalte vi marke.
1626 Edinb. Test. LIII. f. 274v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at (Ring) Ten ryng of knappill extending to tua thowsand knappill.
a1690 S. Jeake Λογιστικηλογία (1696) 65 Clapholt or Clapboard. In 1 Great Hundred 12 Rings. In 1 Ring 2 small Hundred. In 1 Small Hundred 120 Boards.
1708 T. Langham Neat Duties on All Merchandize 24 Claphoult or Clapboard, the small hundred, cont. 6 score boards the Ring, cont. two small hundred the great hundred, cont. twenty four small hundred.
1766 W. Hunter Merchants Clerk 152 Clapholt or boards, the ring, cont. 2 small hundreds, the great hundred, cont. 24 ditto.
1816 M. Walsh New Syst. Mercantile Arithm. (ed. 4) 153 A ring of Staves do. 240.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Ring, a commercial measure of staves, or wood prepared for casks, and containing four shocks.
1900 Stave Trade Foreign Countries (U.S. Bureau Foreign Commerce) 298 Prices of large staves are usually quoted per piece; for smaller staves, per great thousand (1,200 staves) or per ‘ring’ (240 staves), with or without heading.
1998 Recorded Interview 30 Oct. (Brit. Libr. Sound Archive) (Millennium Memory Bank C900/15513) (MS transcript) Twenty five nickies in a ring, then they were loaded onto a horse trolley, and taken to Ventnor.

Phrases

P1.
ring of steel n. a military array or defensive cordon surrounding a person or place; (now) spec. a system of security measures such as blockades, checkpoints, and surveillance established around an area, usually as an anti-terrorist initiative.
ΚΠ
1608 J. Day Humour out of Breath v. i. sig. G3 Guard in my safety with a ring of steele, And marke how proudly heele demeane reuenge.
a1641 J. Webster & T. Heywood Appius & Virginia (1654) iv. 49 Worthy souldiers, martial your selves, and entertaine this novel within a ring of steele.
1870 Fall of Jerusalem ii. 46 The cohorts surrounded the unarmed crowd with a ring of steel, and beat down to the earth every victim within their reach.
1914 Times 9 Dec. 4/3 Around Belgium is a ring of steel.
1943 Yank 10 Feb. 2 Take a look at this ring of steel that's being forged around Hitler in Europe.
1976 Economist (Nexis) 3 Apr. 28 All weekend soldiers in Belfast hammered away, constructing new check points and military shelters: by last Monday morning everything was completed and Belfast's new ‘ring of steel’ security came into operation.
1997 J. Bowyer Bell Secret Army (rev. ed.) vii. xxvii. 641 The ring of steel around the City had been penetrated... The checkpoints, the special cameras, the new monitors, and the security precautions..had been futile.
2007 News of World (Nexis) 15 July The amazing ring of steel round the Aberdeenshire castle includes a £1 million laser system, miles of super-sensitive sensor pads plus infra-red and car-spy cameras.
P2.
Ring of Fire n. (also Pacific Ring of Fire) a belt of volcanic and seismic activity bordering the Pacific Ocean, corresponding to the zone where the Pacific tectonic plate meets adjacent plates.The Ring of Fire extends through the Andes in South America, through Central America and Mexico, along the west coast of the United States into Alaska, across the Aleutian Island chain, through the Kamchatka Peninsula, Japan, and the Philippines, and into New Zealand and the margins of Antarctica. [Ultimately reflecting the work of the German scientist C. Ritter (compare quot. 1863), who used the terms Feuerkreis and Feuerkranz.]
ΚΠ
1863 W. L. Gage tr. C. Ritter Geogr. Stud. 321 This division..completes a circuit of more than two hundred volcanoes in constant action, rightly giving it the name of the Volcanic Circle.]
1871 B. B. Woodward tr. E. Reclus Earth lxii. 430 Thus is completed the great ring of fire which circles round the whole surface of the Pacific Ocean.
1955 R. M. Pearl How to know Minerals & Rocks ii. 20 Although volcanoes are widespread throughout the world, the most striking feature of their distribution is the so-called ring of fire surrounding the Pacific Ocean basin.
1965 Science 9 Oct. 231/2 A belt of volcanoes stretches across lower Asia, down through Java and Sumatra where it joins the Pacific Ring of Fire.
1989 Nature 6 Apr. 473/1 Volcanoes in the ‘Ring of Fire’ surrounding the Pacific Ocean are sited on tectonic arc segments marking the great subduction zones where oceanic crust returns to the mantle.
2001 Adventure Trav. July–Aug. 35/2 These natural hot springs are dotted over most of Japan, thanks again to that Ring of Fire.
P3.
ring of iron n. [in sense (b) after Spanish cinturón de hierro (1936 in this spec. use)] (a) (figurative and in figurative contexts) an encirclement or confinement viewed as being unrelenting or impenetrable (cf. iron n.1 1b); (b) (also iron ring; also with capital initials) a defensive cordon surrounding Bilbao, created by the Basque army during the Spanish Civil War (1936–9) and comprising concentric rings of tunnels, fortified trenches, etc.
ΚΠ
1898 R. Barr Tekla xl. 403 (heading) The archbishops environed in a ring of iron.
1905 G. K. Chesterton Club of Queer Trades 105 As for Miss Mowbray, she—he held me in a ring of iron.
1937 Reno (Nevada) Evening Gaz. 7 May 1/3 The northern Spanish insurgent army smashed against Bilbao's last line of defense, the iron ring of trenches defended by thirty thousand troops.
1961 H. Thomas Spanish Civil War xliv. 401 Captain Goicochea, a Basque officer, who had taken part in the building of Bilbao's defences, the so-called ‘ring of iron’.
1990 D. C. Large Between Two Fires (1991) 374 The Spanish Nationalists and their Fascist allies' superiority in firepower slowly pushed the Basques back into their ‘Ring of Iron’ around Bilbao.
2002 J. Hazel Who's who in Rom. World (ed. 2) 132/2 His tactics were superior, rolling up and surrounding the Romans in a ring of iron.

Compounds

C1. General attributive, objective, instrumental, parasynthetic, and similative.
a. Branch I., esp. in sense 1.
ring-adorned adj.
ΚΠ
1831 Ladies' Museum June 305/2 Taking out his snuff-box, extending his ring-adorned finger to the utmost, and applying a white pocket handkerchief to his nose, he gave place to Edward Steuart.
1850 F. E. Smedley Frank Fairlegh iv. 31 [He] arranged his curls with a ring-adorned hand.
1919 L. M. Hollander tr. A. Olrik Heroic Legends Denmark 237 Viggi now went about the hall, showing his ring-adorned right arm.
2005 L. Thompson tr. H. Mankell Man Who Smiled ix. 150 He witnessed..the unknown men peeling money from enormous bundles with their ring-adorned fingers.
ring-bright adj.
ΚΠ
1893 W. Morris & E. Magnússon tr. S. Sturluson Stories Kings of Norway I. 278 The byrny's Vidur Must shed the ring-bright, clattering War-sark of Hangi.
1949 E. Blunden After Bombing 14 A child's eye drooped, so gleamed the ring-bright shell.
2002 M. Kube-McDowell Vectors 176 She gestured eagerly with a ring-bright finger.
ring chain n.
ΚΠ
1786 C. Vallancey Collectanea de Rebus Hibern. IV. 106 I have in my possession a silver ring for the finger; the device is one of these ring-chains: it was found in a bog near Athlone.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 321 A new and more perfect arrangement of the ring-chain was introduced.
1917 J. S. Margerison Sure Shield 86 It was the ring chain that had worked slightly loose and which was allowing the five-ton mass of cast iron to slide three inches each way as the ship rolled and pitched.
2004 Sci. Fiction Stud. 31 104 A notable instance of such metamorphic becoming is a dancing ghost's transformation into a set of tubes or ropes that turns into a ring chain.
ring-finder n.
ΚΠ
1853 D. Lardner Hand-bk. Nat. Philos. & Astron. III. ii. xxx. 836 The telescope is then accurately directed to the object by the ring-finder.
1906 A. M. Earle China Collecting in Amer. x. 212 Whoever was lucky enough to fish up the coin was certain of good luck during the ensuing year, while the ring-finder would be happily and speedily married.
1954 J. R. R. Tolkien Fellowship of Ring ii. i. 237 And you are the heir of Bilbo, the Ring-finder.
1996 Los Angeles Times (Electronic ed.) 25 July During the wait, the ring finder persuaded the cashiers to split the reward and pay him half the money in advance.
ring-giver n.
ΚΠ
1799 tr. G. E. Lessing School for Honor iii. v. 48 Then, presto, slips him a ring on his finger; himself scarcely knowing how; and not seldom would he willingly part with his finger to shake off the ring and ring-giver.
1886 J. S. Corbett Fall of Asgard I. 184 Priest of Vold my father was, Rich ring-giver he.
1922 W. L. Richardson & J. M. Owen Lit. of World xii. 358 The language is condensed..with an occasional compact metaphor such as the ‘sea-steed’ (the ship) or a typical epithet such as ‘ring-giver’ (the king).
1999 S. Heaney tr. Beowulf (2000) 44 Or so it seems to thanes in their grief, in the anguish every thane endures at the loss of a ring-giver, now that the hand that bestowed so richly has been stilled in death.
ring-giving n.
ΚΠ
1856 J. Timbs Things not generally Known (ed. 2) 163 The meaning of this ring-giving is a mystery—is lost in antiquity.
1877 W. Jones Finger-ring Lore 311 The ring-giving was followed by the usual sacrament in church.
1922 J. D. Spaeth Old Eng. Poetry 230 Heavenly joy and rewards take the place of the revelry and ring-giving in the mead-hall.
2000 Past & Present Nov. 70 In Italy the ring-giving ceremony replaced the joining of hands in the iconography of marriage.
† ring-having n. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
1912 E. Pound Ripostes 27 He hath not heart for harping, nor in ring-having Nor winsomeness to wife.
ring lore n.
ΚΠ
1863 Fraser's Mag. Sept. 400/2 A later form of the ring-lore, or ring-teaching among the Bretons, was that of the miracle plays in the rings called the Rounds of Cornwall.
1890 W. Jones Finger-ring Lore (ed. 2) p. vii In thus contributing to the extension of knowledge, the subject of ring-lore has a close affinity to that of numismatics, but it possesses the supreme advantage of appealing to our sympathies and affections.
1954 J. R. R. Tolkien Fellowship of Ring i. ii. 57 All that he would reveal to us of his ring-lore.
2007 W. P. MacNeil Lex Populi 180 Saruman, failing to get possession of the Ring, would..have found in Mordor the missing links in his own researches into Ring-lore.
ring-maker n.
ΚΠ
?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 104v A Rynge maker, anularius.
a1500 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 686/35 Hic anularius, a ryngmaker.
1648 H. Hexham Groot Woorden-boeck Een Ringh-maker, a Ring-maker, a Jeweller.
1749 Copy of Poll for Citizen of Westm. 246 Samuel Reighton St. Martins Lane Ringmaker.
1845 Penny Cycl. Suppl. I. 198/1 Ring makers and turners.
1920 A. P. Usher Introd. Industr. Hist. Eng. iii. 67 Makers of plain nails,..brass-buckle-makers, ring-makers, lorimers.
1996 Independent 7 Dec. (Weekend section) 13/1 Ring makers, chain makers, bracelet makers join forces to produce all you could dream of.
ring mystery n.
ΚΠ
1877 W. Jones Finger-ring Lore 111 This ring mystery, the Dactylomancia.., was a favourite operation of the ancients.
1954 Afr. Affairs 53 213 Another item of the cultural hotch-potch is the appearance of the first African member of the Magicians' Circle, Joe James, who performs the ring mystery.
2005 Publisher's Weekly 11 Apr. 56 Readers may find themselves yearning for a little subtlety by the time the ring mystery is solved and loose ends are neatly tied together.
ring plait n.
ΚΠ
1859 Godey's Lady's Bk. Aug. 166/2 (caption) Thin ring plait.
1908 W. G. Collingwood Scand. Brit. 245 The ornament with ring-plaits..cannot be earlier than the tenth century.
2005 A. Crone & E. Campbell Crannog 1st Millenium AD 126/2 The recent recognition of a motif piece bearing Norse style ring-plait ornament..strengthens this argument.
ring-shaped adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [adjective] > annular
annular?a1560
ringed1593
annulary1646
ring-shaped1657
ringy1683
corolliform1854
1657 N. Culpeper & W. Rand tr. J. Riolan Sure Guide v. xxvii. 227 A Certain peice of Flesh four Square of a Thumbs breadth is found upon the Ring-shaped Ligament.
1816 R. Jameson Treat. External Characters Minerals (ed. 2) i. 205 A Crystal is said to be..annular or ring-shaped.
1893 J. Tuckey tr. B. Hatschek Amphioxus 161 A broad ring-shaped wall of thin columnar ciliated cells.
1925 H. C. Booth tr. F. Auerbach Mod. Magnetics (U.K. ed.) vii. 183 This consists of a ring-shaped copper disk which swings as a pendulum between two opposite poles of an electro-magnet.
1989 N.Y. Times 14 Nov. c1/3 The S.S.C., a ring-shaped accelerator 53 miles in circumference..could itself fall victim to the cost barrier.
2007 Science 13 July 167 Sister chromatids are bound together by a ring-shaped molecular complex called cohesin.
ring token n.
ΚΠ
1862 J. F. Campbell Pop. Tales W. Highlands IV. ii. 297 The incident of sending a man to try the fidelity of a wife, and his deceit with a ring token, has a counterpart in No. XVIII.
1918 Encycl. Americana VI. 598/1 The real lover returns just in time with a ring token.
1995 Ethnomusicology 39 305 Creighton divided her collection into (1) variants of Child ballads; (2) songs closely related to Child ballads; (3) songs of love; (4) songs on the theme of the broken ring token.
b. Branch II., esp. with the sense ‘having the shape of a ring, annular, circular’.
ring-base n.
ΚΠ
1872 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Patents 1871 II. 640/1 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (42nd Congr., 2nd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc. 86) VIII The portable furnace herein described, consisting of the body A, with door B and one or more dampers,..the ring-base F having one or more kettle-rings.
1957 V. G. Childe Dawn European Civilization (ed. 6) v. 60 Ring bases and genuine handles betoken an unusual degree of sophistication.
2005 Jrnl. Field Archaeol. 30 422 Low ring bases outnumber flat bases with a ratio of 3:1.
† ring battalia n. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
1638 J. Underhill Newes from Amer. 37 Placing the Indians..without side of our souldiers in a ring battalia.
ring brooch n.
ΚΠ
1845 Proc. Lit. & Philos. Soc. Liverpool 1 61 The ring-brooch, it will be observed, was an object much ornamented—often a love-token, inscribed with talismanic charms, religious or other devices.
1883 C. T. Gatty Catal. Mediæval & Later Antiquities Mayer Museum 37 Ring brooch, in silver; inscribed on one side, in niello work, + ave: maria: gracia: plena: d, and on the other + agla + no. a + s: blasiv.
1931 J. Evans Eng. Posies & Posy Rings p. xii Such inscriptions were commonly engraved in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries on the ring-brooches that were used to fasten the dress at the neck.
2002 Treasure Hunting Nov. 21/3 I also saw..a silver farthing, a medieval ring brooch, and a Saxon strap end all brought to the finds table within a couple of hours of the rally commencing.
ring ditch n.
ΚΠ
1861 Thirteenth Gen. Rep. Eccl. Commissioners Eng. 97/1 The Ring Ditch of Martin Mere.
1936 Oxoniensia 1 8 In the following pages some account is given of the investigation of barrows and ring-ditches in the Oxford area.
2000 E. Hunt et al. South Pacific 438/1 A turning..leads you to a large sign describing the circular Velata Mound Fortress, a ring ditch fortification of a type widely found throughout Tonga, Fiji and Samoa.
ring foot n.
ΚΠ
1867 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Patents 1866 II. 733 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (39th Congr., 2nd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc. 109) XVI The wash basin has a soap dish inside and a ring foot.
1927 H. Peake & H. J. Fleure Priests & Kings x. 162 Deep cups have been found with rounded bottoms, also bottles with lugs instead of handles and sometimes with hollow ring-feet.
2005 Hesperia 74 43 The base is broad,..with a low, well-tooled ring-foot.
ring-formed adj.
ΚΠ
1827 London Jrnl. Arts & Sci. 13 248 The furnaces are each surrounded by a series of ring-formed pipes.
1839 C. Darwin Voy. of Beagle p. xx The ring-formed reef of the lagoon-island is surmounted in the greater part of its length by linear islets.
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 899 There is..a primary degeneration of the skin, a sort of ring-formed sclerodermia.
2001 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 98 15083/2 MinE [sc. a protein] assembles as a ring-formed structure at midcell.
ring gasket n.
ΚΠ
1880 U.S. Patent 236,125 1/1 In the lower end of the neck D there is formed an annular depression, a, to receive the ring-gasket E.
1931 Public Health Rep. (U.S. Public Health Service) 46 1832 The Zyklon container has a removable top which can be screwed down tight by four hinged bolts fitting into slots around the edge, air-tight closure being secured by a ring gasket.
1972 L. M. Harris Introd. Deepwater Floating Drilling Operations ix. 93 An AX ring gasket provides a metal-to-metal seal between the connector and the wellhead.
ring handle n.
ΚΠ
1782 W. Smellie Acct. Soc. Antiquaries Scotl. 51 A tripod of brass, with three ring handles, to each of which is affixed a chain of three links.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm I. 199 The doors of the..stables should be provided with sunk flush ring-handles.
1936 Burlington Mag. July 26/1 The pair of..candlesticks with ring-handles has the Britannia standard marks with the date-letter for 1736–37.
2002 S. Goss Brit. Tea & Coffee Cups 15 (caption) New Hall tea cup of Bute shape but with an oval ring handle (often associated with this factory).
ring-handled adj.
ΚΠ
1831 T. Castle Man. Surg. (ed. 3) 420 You must pass a female catheter, a ring-handled forceps, or any such instrument, into the nostrils, and, using it as a lever, push the fragments outwards.
1871 P. Smith Anc. Hist. East ix. §21. 177 Such a hawk is seen in a vignette of the Ritual of the Dead, carrying the ring-handled cross.
1938 Metrop. Mus. Art Bull. 33 242/2 Similar ring-handled cups occur in Arretine ware of the first century B.C.
2005 P. Hyland Herculaneum Pottery vi. 88 Round sugar bowls and ring-handled cups (produced at the time to accompany ‘old oval’ teaware shapes) were supplied to make up a set.
ring hook n.
ΚΠ
1869 Student & Intellectual Observer II. 473 The ring-hook spreads the loop last formed by the ordinary rotating hook, so that when the needle next descends it passes through this loop.
1913 J. Masefield Daffodil Fields 72 Its open door, With old wrought bridle ring-hooks at each flank.
2002 E. Engle Splitting Cane 55 He makes a unique sterling silver rope braid ring hook keeper that I use on my rods.
ring loaf n.
ΚΠ
1802 R. Southey King Ramiro viii I would give you a roasted capon first, And a good ring loaf of wheaten bread.
1888 Catholic World Nov. 209 At home in the book-room a brisk fire was burning in the open grate, on a table a livery of cold chicken, ring loaves, and a flagon of wine.
1952 Walla Walla (Washington) Union-Bull. 15 May 20/2 Orange ring loaf seems just the right one to glamorize spring and summer menus.
2007 J. E. Orsini Ital. Baking Secrets 84 Reserve the perfect halves for the ring loaf.
ring-relic n.
ΚΠ
1877 W. Jones Finger-ring Lore 475 A ring-relic of Fotheringay..is of gold, set with a diamond.
2007 D. Crouch tr. M. Aurell Plantagenet Empire, 1154–1224 121 To borrow an argument of Edina Bozóky: ‘the symbolic marriage of the dukes of Aquitaine with Valeria, by her ring-relic, bestowed a sacral legitimacy on their investiture.’
† ring-shackle n. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
1574 in J. Raine Wills & Inventories Archdeaconry Richmond (1853) 253 ij wayne shackells,..one ring shackell.
† ring-thimble n. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
1551–2 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Edward VI (1914) 75 Di. dd of Ring thymbles - vjd.
1719 A. Boyer Royal Dict. (rev. ed.) at Ring A Ring-thimble.
† ring tyre n. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1825 Repertory Patent Inventions 1 460 The latter part may be varied by having the knobs fastened to the ring-tire.
1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) 63 Ring tires are used for light 3-pounders and hand-cart wheels.
1907 C. W. Van Law in T. A. Rickard Recent Cyanide Pract. 330 The mill was stopped and the ring tire carefully cleaned off.
ring-weight n.
ΚΠ
1807 Repertory of Arts 2nd Ser. 10 408 Instead of rings fastened to the floor, common ring-weights (such as butchers' weights) may be used.
1889 Amer. Jrnl. Archaeology 5 365 Early Ring-weights.—M. J. de Morgan read a note on Aug. 30..on a peculiarity of the early bronze rings found int he Caucasus and in Russian Armenia.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses iii. xvii. [Ithaca] 634 Though ringweight lifting had been beyond his strength..he had excelled in his stable and protracted execution of the half lever movement on the parallel bars.
2000 N. K. Singh Internat. Encycl. Islamic Dynasties 1017 Other metalwork well represented from finds in Anatolia includes..brass/bronze mirrors and cast brass dirham ring-weights for steelyards.
c. With the sense ‘having a ring or rings of contrasting colour’, as ring-banded, ring-billed, etc., occurring chiefly in the names of birds. See also ring-billed gull n. and ring-billed mew-gull n. at Compounds 2b; ring-necked adj., ring-tailed adj.
ΚΠ
1802 G. Shaw Gen. Zool. III. ii. 492 Ring-banded Snake, Coluber Doliatus... A small, but highly elegant, species.
1874 J. W. Long Amer. Wild-fowl Shooting 276 Ring-necked Duck... Local names, ‘Ring-billed Duck’ [etc.].
1890 J. P. Ballard Among Moths & Butterflies 79 The black ring-notched chrysalis.
1967 T. Lewis & L. R. Taylor Introd. Exper. Ecol. iv. 183 Only Forficula auricularia (Common European Earwig)..is likely to be encountered in U.K. In U.S., Euborellia annulipes (Ring-legged Earwig) may be more common.
1977 Biotropica 9 106/1 The red (or orange) ring-banded pattern of the hermathena larva is superficially similar to that of the primitive heliconian Philaethria pygmalion.
†d. spec. Scottish. In sense 10, as ring bere (bere n.1), ring corn, ring malt. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1450 in C. Innes Registrum Episcopatus Brechinensis (1856) I. 86 An boll of ryng ber of ylke pluch.
1473 in C. Rogers Rental Bk. Cupar-Angus (1879) I. 178 Our corn myle..with al multuris..togiddyr with the ryng beir.
1538 in G. P. McNeill Exchequer Rolls Scotl. (1897) XVII. 135 ij ferlotis j pecca ij part pecce lie ringbeir terrarum de Knokany.
c1592 Reg. Arbroath (Bannatyne Club) I. App. p. xxiv Kirktounmilne with the astrict multures, ringbeir and vtheris proffites.
1648 Retour in T. Thomson Inquisitionum (1811) I. 306 Molendino de Crauchie, cum ring bear, ring aittis ejusdem.
1694 in T. Thomson Inquisitionum (1811) II. 1006 Et lie ring bear terrarum et dominii de Coupar.
1752 Session Papers, Adam v. Heritors of Cushney 18 June in Sc. National Dict. (1968) VII. 451/1 The Heretors appeared and claimed a Deduction for sixteen Bolls of what they call Ring-bear Multure; his Lordship reported that there were 16 Bolls of Ring-bear then payable to the Heretors, which sometime was payable to the Multurer of the Mill.
1814 Session Papers, Abstr. of Proof conc. Mill of Inveramsay in J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. (1825) at Ring By Decreet Arbitral, 1 firlot of corn and 1 firlot of malt, as ring-corn and ring-malt, out of each plough.
e. Branch III., spec. in sense 14, as ring government, ring politician, ring price; ring-ridden adj.
ΚΠ
1866 New Hampsh. Statesman 7 Dec. Clique and ring politicians accelerate the downfall of the Democratic party.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. II. lxiv. 477 The materials for real ring government do not exist..outside the large cities.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. II. lxiv. 477 Country places and the smaller cities are not ring-ridden.
1889 Spectator 12 Oct. 478/1 Judges, district attorneys, and other functionaries owe their places to ring politicians.
1955 Times 13 May 9/1 Wellington City Council, which recently protested strongly against the submission of equal tenders by a number of British firms, has now decided to accept a tender for electric cable which is £3,000 below the ‘ring price’.
1964 Louisiana Hist. 5 395 The Ring politicians had sprung mainly from the working classes and catered to this group to keep themselves in power.
1968 Sunday Times 10 Nov. 1/2 Ring dealing is when dealers agree not to force the price up by bidding against each other at an auction.
2006 J. F. Bauman & E. K. Muller Before Renaissance 40 Before Pittsburgh could become a moral, orderly planned environment, its corrupt ring government had to be vanquished.
f. Branch III., spec. in sense 13e.
ring closure n.
ΚΠ
1905 Jrnl. Biol. Chem. 1 27 It is conceivable that in the production of the base..ring closure took place in such a way that the nitrogen atoms of these two disconnected groups became directly joined.
1964 N. G. Clark Mod. Org. Chem. xv. 294 On heating..these compounds readily undergo ring-closure through loss of a molecule of ethanol.
1992 C. A. Smith & E. J. Wood Biosynthesis ix. 204 Three ammonium ions are lost at this stage, with a fourth eliminated later on ring closure to uroporphyrinogen III.
ring compound n.
ΚΠ
1885 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. 47 804 Another method for forming these ring-compounds was..afterwards found.
1932 Discovery Aug. 246/1 A half-way stage between the most stable kind of carbon chain compound, and the most stable kind of ring compound.
1988 J. D. Barrow & F. J. Tipler Anthropic Cosmol. Princ. (rev. ed.) viii. 549 The purines adenine and guanine, and the pyrimidines cytosine, uracil, and thymine,..are ring compounds with two nitrogen atoms per ring.
ring formation n.
ΚΠ
1886 E. F. Smith tr. V. von Richter Chem. Carbon Compounds 644 This ring-formation ensues.
1967 D. Margerison & G. C. East Introd. Polymer Chem. iii. 129 These formulations of the reactions of difunctional monomers have ignored the possibility of ring formation.
ring-opening n. and adj.
ΚΠ
1907 Jrnl. Physical Chem. 11 119 It is of great interest to trace the intermediate steps of the reaction..to elucidate some theory—as that of ring opening in the oxidation of cyclic compound [sic].
1959 A. Albert Heterocyclic Chem. vii. 269 Dehydracetic acid undergoes ring-opening to aceto-acetylacetone-3-carboxylic acid.
1967 D. Margerison & G. C. East Introd. Polymer Chem. v. 261 Other ring-opening polymerizations in this class include the conversion of caprolactam to nylon 6.
2002 Jrnl. Org. Chem. 67 4680 Phenyl- and vinyl-derived organometallics are not efficient nucleophiles for the ring-opening reactions.
ring structure n.
ΚΠ
1886 Trans. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1885–6 5 195 Professional chemists note with interest the important avenues of research opened up by the extension of the so-called ring structure of carbon compounds.
1930 Engineering 18 Apr. 525/2 These investigations indicated that the cellulose molecule had a ring structure.
2000 J. Mann Murder, Magic, & Med. (rev. ed.) iv. 208 By combining the ring structure of adrenalin or ephedrine with a hybrid adrenalin/amphetamine side-chain, the drug isoprenaline..was obtained.
g. Branch IV., esp. in sense 18a.
ring corner n.
ΚΠ
1890 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 14 Sept. 4/1 Lynch is a very valuable man in the ring corner.
1894 A. Morrison Tales Mean Streets 140 Neddy sat in his chair in the ring-corner, and spread his arms on the ropes.
1939 N.Y. Times 26 Jan. 24/3 Julian Black named himself, Trainer Jack Blackburn and Mannie Seaman as the heavyweight king's attendants in the ring corner.
2005 C. Coleman Cage's Bend 231 You look more like the trainer in the ring corner who sponges the boxer's face, slaps grease in his cuts.
ring fighter n.
ΚΠ
1819 Blackwood's Mag. Sept. 640/2 He attacks them with the bluster and swagger of a ring fighter.
1848 tr. W. Hoffmeister Trav. Ceylon & Continental India vii. 267 Jugglers, ring-fighters, wrestlers and dancers.
1931 N.Y. Times 11 Oct. s9/1 Carnera has yet to prove himself a ring fighter of the first flight.
2001 Sat. Night (Toronto) (Electronic ed.) 1 Sept. Her attempts to become a competent ring fighter.
† ring goer n. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1820 Sporting Mag. 6 175 To the majority of the present ring-goers, it was mere hearsay.
1881 Baily's Monthly Mag. Dec. 272 None but the older ring-goers, men who appreciate old wines, presume to criticise such performers.
1925 Boston Daily Globe 22 May 21/8 Local ring goers like the heavies because the chances of a kayo are much greater than with the lighter scrappers.
C2.
a.
ring arc n. Astronomy a structure that appears as an arc or incomplete ring around a planet, esp. Neptune, generally representing part of a complete ring in which the rest of the ring is faint or invisible.
ΚΠ
1985 Science 6 Dec. 1150/2 (heading) Neptune's ring arcs confirmed.
1992 New Scientist 13 June 17/2 When Voyager 2 flew by Neptune in 1989, its cameras revealed five partial rings—or ring arcs—spaced around one circle 60,000 kilometres from the centre of the planet.
2007 E. D. Miner et al. Planetary Ring Syst. v. 70 There have been changes in Neptune's ring system since the Voyager 2 encounter. The Adams and Le Verrier rings are still at their expected locations but the ring-arc Liberté has almost completely vanished.
ring armature n. now historical and rare an armature (armature n. 4c) having conducting wires wound around a ring-shaped core; cf. Gramme n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical engineering > armature > [noun] > types of
ring armature1873
drum winding1886
bar-armature1888
shuttle armature1890
shuttle-wound armature1893
slotted armature1902
1873 Q. Jrnl. Sci. July 312 The theoretical resistance of the machine should be one-fourth of the whole resistance of the wire wound round the ring armature.
1920 G. W. O. Howe tr. A. Thomälen Text-bk. Electr. Engin. (ed. 5) vi 116 The electromotive force of a drum armature is naturally the same as that of a ring armature with the same number of external wires.
1974 Encycl. Brit. Macropædia VI. 610/1 The ring armature..enormously improved the efficiency of early electric generators.
ring armour n. armour composed of metal rings, chain mail.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > armour > [noun] > mail-armour
mailc1330
mailurec1450
couplet-harness1609
chain-armoura1797
ring armoura1797
ring-mail1804
chain-mail1822
iron cloth1840
mail armour1845
a1797 H. Walpole Walpoliana (1799) II. cxxvi. 83 The chain, or ring, armour was that used in the middle ages.
1834 Penny Cycl. II. 369 The ring-armour of the Bayeux tapestry forms..breeches and jacket at the same time.
1914 B. Laufer Chinese Clay Figures iv. 252 The author, as plainly stated in the heading, means to represent a ring armor made of steel wire.
2001 P. B. Newman Daily Life Middle Ages vi. 193 It could also serve as the foundation and cover for other types of armors such as brigandines, ring armor, and similar body armors.
† ring-around n. Obsolete (a) North American a ring of diseased tissue around a vine stem, occurring as a symptom of grape anthracnose; (as a mass noun) the disease itself; (b) = sense 16a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement in circle or curve > [noun] > movement in circle > circular course
ringeOE
virona1380
environa1382
roundness?c1425
circuit1483
orbicular1523
round1539
bouta1542
rundle1574
ring road1828
orbit1831
ring-around1894
1894 Bull. Cornell Univ. Agric. Exper. Station No. 76. 442 This form of the disease [sc. anthracnose] is particularly prevalent upon the stem of the grape cluster. Here it is sometimes called ‘ring-around’.
1896 E. G. Lodeman Spraying of Plants ii. 295 It frequently occurs that a part is completely girdled, causing a ‘ring-around’, as it is commonly called.
1902 E. S. Goff Lessons Commerc. Fruit Growing iii. 143 The disease also often girdles the stems of the clusters, causing an affection known as ‘ring-around’.
1907 J. Joyce Chamber Music ix Winds of May, that dance on the sea, Dancing a ring-around in glee From furrow to furrow.
ring bayonet n. historical a bayonet with a ring by means of which it is fixed in position on a musket.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > side arms > knife or dagger > [noun] > bayonet
dagger1688
bayonet1704
fixed bayonet1802
ring bayonet1841
sword-bayonet1844
winkle-pin1924
spike1928
1841 J. Hewitt Tower iii. 43 To the ring bayonet soon succeeded the socket bayonet and the sword-bayonet for rifles.
1874 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. I. 252/2 The ring-bayonet was introduced in 1693, and the socket-bayonet in 1703.
1946 Mil. Affairs 10 56/1 I confess the ‘ring’ bayonet is a type with which I was previously unfamiliar.
2005 W. Weir 50 Weapons that changed Warfare xvii. 81 The person who first invented the ring bayonet is uncertain.
ring beam n. (a) a ring-shaped beam of yarn (now rare); (b) Building and Engineering a band of reinforced concrete or other strong material along the perimeter walls of a structure (originally esp. a domed building).
ΚΠ
1913 Times 12 Apr. 24/5 Yarns are sold sparingly; ring beams are doing well and are much more in demand than mule twist.
1924 Times Trade & Engin. Suppl. 29 Nov. 247/1 Ring beams are now worse off in margin by 1d. per lb. compared with a month or six weeks ago.
1932 C. E. Reynolds Reinforced Concrete Designers Handbk. ii. 216 Outward horizontal thrust on ring beam at B from dome.
2004 D. M. Dowling in W. I. Rose et al. Nat. Hazards in El Salvador xxii. 294/1 The ring beam allows a more uniform distribution of the roof load onto the walls, thus minimizing zones of high stress concentration.
ring-bearer n. a person who carries a ring or rings; spec. (North American) an attendant, esp. a page boy, who carries the rings at a wedding.
ΚΠ
1848 Mrs. G. Horrocks tr. W. Menzel Hist. Germany I. 48 One of the highest points of the Giant Mountains, famous in story, the Reifträger or Ring-bearer, is quite bare, and surrounded with a regular circle of enormous stones.
1932 W. Faulkner Light in August xi. 237 He was twelve then, and they wanted him to be the ringbearer.
1954 J. R. R. Tolkien Fellowship of Ring ii. viii. 393 ‘And you, Ring-bearer,’ she said, turning to Frodo.
1996 Chatelaine (Canada) June 60 Her 7-year-old son, Matthew, will serve as the ring bearer.
ring binder n. a loose-leaf binder with ring-shaped hinged metal clasps which can be opened to pass through holes punched in paper.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > book > parts of book > [noun] > cover > binder for unbound periodicals, etc.
case1750
binder1837
self-binder1838
sermon case1853
bookcase1885
ring binder1906
1906 E. McCullough Engin. Work 262 Positive prints are made on heavy parchment paper and bound with a loose leaf ring binder.
1929 A. J. Vaughan Mod. Bookbinding ii. 136 The ring binders. These employ rings which may be opened or closed, the paper being pierced with round holes.
1977 New Yorker 27 June 30/1 Forced into proximity as we were by ledgers, ring binders, and jars of mucilage.
2002 R. D. Treloar Plumbing: Heating & Gas Installations (ed. 2) Introd. p. xiv This is simply a box folder or a ring binder which should be available for inspection.
ring binding n. a set of ring-shaped hinged clasps which can be opened to pass through holes punched in paper.
ΚΠ
1940 Pop. Mech. Nov. 123/2 Between covers of transparent plastic material, a ring binding holds narrow strips coated with adhesive.
1977 P. D. James Death of Expert Witness ii. v. 80 A quarto-sized loose-leaf notebook with a ring binding.
2003 Kenyon Rev. 25 85 The book appeared in 1950..on the cheapest paper, with cardboard covers and a plastic ring binding.
ring bit n. (a) a horse's bit having rings at the ends; (b) a horse's bit having a ring that can be put over its lower jaw.
ΚΠ
1607 G. Markham Cavelarice ii. 60 The other I call the ryng bytt, for it consisteth all of ringes, one smoothe, the other rough, and mingled with sundrie small players.
1727 R. Bradley Compl. Bk. Husband. xviii. 340 The melon bit, the peare bit, the ball or poppy bit, the ring bit, and many more that have been, and are now in use.
1853 Mech. Mag. 25 June 506/2 Plain ring-bits have been used before, but they have always been suspended by cheek-straps at the sides.
1894 Harper's Mag. Mar. 520/2 The Mexican ‘punchers’ all use the ‘ring bit’, and it is a fearful contrivance.
1913 W. C. Barnes Western Grazing Grounds 358 (caption) Spanish Ring Bit.
1932 W. E. D. Allen Hist. Georgian People p. xiii Early Iron Age horse-bit from Gori... (Cf. the almost identical Scythian ring-bit from Dévé-Huyuk.)
1992 C. McCarthy All Pretty Horses (1993) ii. 100 We're lookin at ridin some coldjawed son of a bitch broke with one of them damned mexican ringbits.
ring book n. a notebook or book having the form of a ring binder.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > writing materials > material to write on > paper > [noun] > pad of paper > notebook
bookOE
notebook1565
tablebook1582
manuscript book1593
notary1651
pocketbook1660
tablets1773
jotter1882
pencil tablet1882
ring book1891
carnet1897
telephone pad1900
notepad1922
copy1943
1891 Northwestern Reporter 47 372/2 The trial court should have ordered and required him to produce ‘all his books of account,—the original blotter or option books, the option ledger, general ledger, and ring books’.
1911 Minnesota Legislature 15/1 1 ring book.
1965 P. Wylie They both were Naked i. iv. 149 My second address was neatly arranged in a ring-book.
1998 R. Newman Manners 77 Let us open the blue vinyl ring-book called Caucasian Female 20–30.
† ring boot n. Obsolete a rubber ring placed on a horse's fetlock to prevent its being struck by the shoe or hoof of the opposite foot.
ΚΠ
1860 Times 12 Oct. 2/1 Fetlock, speedy, leg, knee, ring boots, &c.
1908 G. Bosvile Horses, Horsemen, & Stable-managem. 66 (caption) Ring-boot.
† ring-bored adj. Obsolete (of a gun barrel) bored roughly, so as to leave the metal in rings.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > parts and fittings of firearms > [adjective] > attributes of barrel
foul1579
ring-bored1835
multi-choke1951
1835 W. Greener Gun 163 The chance is that they are ring-bored, as they are termed.
1858 J. Deane Man. Hist. & Sci. Fire-arms 136 These may be considered in the same category as the ring-bored or rough-bored barrels.
ring-bound adj. (of a book, manuscript, etc.) bound by a series of rings along one edge of the paper; bound in a ring binder.
ΚΠ
1857 J. Hyde Mormonism x. 257 Smith pretends to have found one book ‘bound by three rings passing through the back edge.’.. They did not see this ring-bound book.
1938 Sci. News-let. 34 368/2 A ring-bound laboratory manual placing emphasis on scientific method.
2008 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 28 Oct. (Features section) 17 Get a few pencils of different weights,..and an A4 sketchbook you can carry around, ideally ring-bound.
ring-building n. Archaeology the forming of pottery vessels by adding successive layers of ring-shaped pieces of clay.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > pottery-making or ceramics > [noun] > types of
presswork1839
vase-work1893
coiling1900
slip casting1901
ring-building1932
1932 Man 32 122/1 The commonest variety of building is by ‘coiling’, which may be subdivided into (a) true spiral coiling, and (b) ring-building.
1957 V. G. Childe Dawn European Civilization (ed. 6) xi. 204 From Sweden to Siberia..all pots were manufactured by the same technique of ring-building.
2000 J. Bourriau et al. in P. T. Nicholson & I. Shaw Anc. Egyptian Materials & Technol. v. 125/2 Another common hand-forming technique is that of coil or ring building.
ring-built adj. Archaeology (of a pottery vessel) formed by adding successive layers of ring-shaped pieces of clay.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > clay compositions > baked clay > pottery or ceramics > [adjective] > manufactured in specific way
soft1802
thrown1853
ring-built1953
1953 Man 53 65/1 When it reaches South Italy, c. 3000 B.C., it is certainly ring-built.
1963 E. M. Jope in I. L. Foster & L. Alcock Culture & Environment xiii. 337 In the tenth to twelfth centuries, the distinctive bar-lip style of pottery, flat-based and coil- or ring-built, rooted firmly in the simplest techniques of prehistoric pottery-making.
2005 J. Lang & A. Middleton Radiography Cultural Material (ed. 2) 85/1 Radiographic examination..revealed that this vessel was coil/ring-built.
ring burner n. a ring-shaped gas burner, (now) esp. a gas ring on a cooker or hob.
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1856 Times 16 June 14/2 (advt.) Gas kettles with stand and gas ring burner complete.
1885 Army & Navy Co-op. Soc. Price List Jan. 368 Gas stove.., lever taps to hot-plate, and extra simmering burner in centre of ring burner, with brass handle tap.
1906 Lima (Ohio) Times-Democrat 17 Sept. 5 Center ring burner surrounding No. 3, fire wall, heats No. 4, or body, radiating heat into room.
2004 Restaurant Hospitality (Nexis) June 102 It has a ring burner and top that are very hot in the center and cooler at the edges.
ring canal n. Zoology a circular canal around the mouth, esp. one forming part of the digestive system of some coelenterates or the water-vascular system of echinoderms.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Diploblastica > phylum Coelenterata > [noun] > member of > parts of > canal forming structure
ring canal1869
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > phylum Echinodermata > [noun] > member of > parts of > canal forming structure
ring canal1869
1869 Student & Intellect. Observer 3 418 He has not seen the slightest trace of a ‘ring-canal’ in connection with the contracted vesicle [of Stentor].
1881 Encycl. Brit. XII. 550/2 The peripheral portion of the lumen of the original enteric cavity forms the ring-canal, which runs all round the margin of the disc, and is continued into the hollow tentacles.
1960 D. C. Braungart & R. Buddeke Introd. Animal Biol. (ed. 5) viii. 103 The stone canal conducts the water from the madreporite down into a ring canal that encircles the mouth.
1995 C. Nielsen Animal Evol. xlviii. 368 Echinoderms... Radial canals extend from the ring canal along the body wall, giving rise to a double row of tube feet.
† ring-carrier n. Obsolete rare a go-between.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > match-making > [noun] > match-maker
broker1377
marriage-maker1591
proxenete1609
matcher1611
ring-carriera1616
matchmaker1638
match-broker1640
marriage broker1662
marriage-bawd1676
match-monger1680
flesh-broker1699
wife broker1700
black-sole1725
marriage-monger?1748
Blackfoot1808
blackleg1825
a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) iii. v. 93 Mar. Looke he has spyed vs. Wid. Marrie hang you. Mar. And your curtesie, for a ring-carrier.
ring cartilage n. now rare the cricoid cartilage.
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the world > life > the body > structural parts > cartilage > cartilage of specific parts > [noun] > of neck or throat
ringbonec1400
ring?a1425
lavell1530
epiglot1547
flap?1550
weezle1594
cricoid1615
epiglottis1615
over-tongue1615
ring-gristle1615
shield-gristle1615
throat stopper1661
guggle1680
throat flap1683
ring cartilage1690
fillet1693
thyroid cartilage1726
thyroid1840
arytenoid1849
shield-cartilage1881
triticeous cartilage or nodule1891
1690 S. Blankaart Lexicon Novum Medicum (new ed.) 170 Cricoides,..Angl. Ring cartilage vel gristle.
1730 J. Cook Anat. & Mech. Ess. xi. 161 The next are the Arytænoides, which reach from the middle of the fore part of the former, the back and upper part of the Ring Cartilage, which are the chief Modulaters of the Voice.
1859 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. V. 261/1 Another order of elastic tissue lies between the ring-cartilages, tying them together cylindrically.
1910 Amer. Jrnl. Nursing 11 85 The cartilages that can be readily felt in the neck, and which give form to the larynx, are the large thyroid above, and the smaller ring cartilage below.
2008 T. Dimon Anat. Moving Body (ed. 2) x. 60 Sitting on the back part of the ring cartilage within the thyroid cartilage are the two pyramid cartilages.
† ring-chopper n. Obsolete a person who cheats others by means of a worthless ring which is supposed to be valuable.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > defrauder or swindler > [noun] > confidence trickster > types of
ring-chopper1575
ring-faller1575
guinea-dropper1710
gambler1735
money-dropper1737
ring-dropper?1780
pigeon dropper1858
bunco-steerer1875
1575 J. Awdely Fraternitye of Vacabondes (new ed.) sig. B3 Ther is another kinde of these Ring choppers, which commonly cary about them a faire gold ring [etc.].
ring chromosome n. [compare sense 13f] Genetics and Medicine (a) a circular chromosome or pair (or larger group) of chromosomes found as part of the normal karyotype of an organism or developing gamete; (b) an abnormal circular chromosome, typically formed by the loss of the ends of both arms of a normal linear chromosome with fusion of the remaining ends (frequently with postmodifying number or letter denoting the chromosome of origin); (also) a congenital syndrome resulting from the possession of a such a chromosome.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > genetic components > [noun] > chromosome > group of chromosomes
tetrad1876
ring chromosome1895
genome1926
ring1949
1895 Q. Jrnl. Microsc. Sci. 38 287 The double ropes thus formed, dividing into equal segments, eventually give rise to twelve thick loops which..form the twelve ring chromosomes.
1967 Jrnl. Pediatrics 70 172/1 A ring chromosome may result when breaks occur simultaneously in each of the two arms of a single chromosome.
1996 Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey) (Nexis) 26 Apr. Doctors had warned her of other problems symptomatic of Ring Chromosome 20, including a ‘bad’ heart murmur.
2004 A. A. Killeen Princ. Molecular Pathol. iii. 84 Ring chromosomes are seen as a frequent abnormality in some types of cancer.
ring chuck n. a type of chuck (chuck n.4 4) in which the grip is held by means of a ring; (in later use) any of various chucks shaped like a ring.
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1842 G. W. Francis Dict. Arts Ring Chuck, a very useful chuck for many purposes, and one which is easily made.
1919 E. A. Suverkrop Amer. Machinist Shop Note Bk. v. 104 (caption) Ring Chuck for the Steadyrest.
1994 Amer. Woodworker Dec. 41/2 (caption) A knot-free wet spruce log, about 1 ft. long, mounted in a special ring chuck.
ring circuit n. an electrical circuit involving a closed loop or ring; spec. a wiring arrangement for power distribution in buildings in which sockets and fixed appliances are connected to a single loop of cable which starts from and returns to a fuse box.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > transmission of electricity, conduction > wire as conductor > [noun] > loop system
ring main1868
ring circuit1879
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > electronic circuit > [noun] > counting circuit
ring circuit1879
ring counter1942
scaler1945
ring scaler1949
prescaler1954
1879 Eng. Mechanic & World of Sci. 28 Nov. 284/2 This diagram exhibits the Gramme machine... Increase the currents in the ring circuit.
1931 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 132 306 The simplified ‘chain’ arrangement of thyratrons, from which the more useful ‘ring’ circuits..were developed.
1946 Rev. Sci. Instruments 17 185/2 The two pentodes of each trigger pair form opposite partners in the ring circuit.
1961 B. Pym No Fond Return of Love xxiv. 236 Her loud clear tones were addressed to the London Electricity Board, and the conversation seemed to be about power plugs and something called a ‘ring circuit’.
2002 R. D. Treloar Plumbing: Heating & Gas Installations (ed. 2) vi. 252 13 amp socket-outlets are either fed from a continuous ring circuit or from a radial circuit.
ring coal n. Welsh English historical a variety of small and usually bituminous coal suitable for use by smiths.
ΚΠ
1603 G. Owen Descr. Pembrokeshire (1892) i. xi. 88 This kinde of Coale [sc. stone coal] is not noysome for the smoake, nor nothinge soe loathsome for the smell as the ringe coale is whose smoake annoyeth all thinges neere it.
1662 J. Ray Three Itin. iii. 176 In this country they dig two sorts of coals, the one they call stone coal, not fit for smiths; the other ring coal, which is fit for their use.
1969 T. M. Owen in J. G. Jenkins Stud. in Folk Life x. 135 The preparation of culm for domestic use, in fact, involves adding clay and mixing the ingredients well, in order to give the anthracite dust some of the advantages of ‘ring’ coal without its disadvantages.
1993 J. Hatcher Hist. Brit. Coal. Ind. I. iv. xii. 422 Smiths' coal was frequently recognized as a distinct variety. In Scotland it was known as ‘smiddy coal’, in Wales as ring coal or running coal.
† ring-coffin n. Entomology Obsolete rare a type of chrysalis or pupal case; cf. coffin n. 9.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > eggs or young > [noun] > young or development of young > pupa or chrysalis > case or puparium
kexc1600
theca1665
ring-coffin1702
coffin1712
puparium1815
pupa case1826
hull1878
1702 J. Petiver Gazophylacii I. 9 Folliculena seu Folliculum Phalenæ ovale,..the Ring-Coffin.
ring complex n. Geology an intrusive igneous formation consisting of a system of concentric ring dykes or cone sheets.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > discontinuity or unconformity > [noun] > intrusion > ring
ring complex1916
1916 E. B. Bailey et al. Geol. Ben Nevis & Glen Coe viii. 109 The fault serves as the inner boundary of the ring-complex known as the Fault-Intrusion.
1965 A. Holmes Princ. Physical Geol. (rev. ed.) xi. 261 Intrusions in the form of concentric arcs or rings are of two distinct types, forming ring complexes such as are exceptionally well developed around the Tertiary volcanic centres of NW Britain.
1990 P. Kearey & F. J. Vine Global Tectonics xi. 264 Carbonatites, which form ring complexes within the alkaline rocks, are frequently associated with extensive mineralization.
ring composition n. [after Dutch Ringcompositie (1948 or earlier)] a form of narrative structure, characteristic particularly of the oral tradition, in which a narrative develops to reach its most significant theme, before returning to its starting point.
ΚΠ
1949 Classical Rev. 63 137/2 The main purpose of this work is to assemble all the instances of ring-composition in the Iliad and Odyssey and to classify them according to their function.
1979 PMLA 94 924/1 Ring composition has been shown to be a basic structuring device in early Greek literature, the Old Testament Jacob cycle, Old French epic poetry, and traditional British balladry.
2007 M. Douglas Thinking in Circles Pref. p. x Ring composition..is a construction of parallelisms that must open a theme, develop it, and round it off by bringing the conclusion back to the beginning.
ring counter n. Electronics a counting circuit comprising a number of flip-flops or other bistable devices connected in a closed loop, the output of the final flip-flop setting the input of the first, which allows continuous counting.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > electronic circuit > [noun] > counting circuit
ring circuit1879
ring counter1942
scaler1945
ring scaler1949
prescaler1954
1942 W. B. Lewis Electr. Counting viii. 90 A thyratron ring counter which could have any number of thyratrons arranged in a ring with an arc in one of them.
1969 J. J. Sparkes Transistor Switching viii. 195 If the outputs of the last flip-flop..are connected back to the inputs of the first flip-flop than a Ring Counter is formed.
2000 J. Van der Spiegel et al. in R. Rojas & U. Hashagen First Computers ii. 148 The unit consists internally of ring counters, several receivers, and numerous pulse-gating paths.
ringcraft n. (a) the making of rings as jewellery (rare); (b) skill in boxing or wrestling; (c) skill in the bull ring.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > boxing > [noun] > skill in
science1785
glovework1822
ringcraft1840
1840 Monthly Mag. Nov. 472 This said they all, discoursing of the ring, There never had been such a wonder-thing In ring-craft seen, or heard of.
1888 Morning Oregonian (Portland, Oregon) 20 Apr. 3/1 He is absolutely without the ring craft, without which no man could or can be a real bonafide champion.
1927 P. Herring Bold Bendigo xviii. 144 Tom Scrutton..soon found he had a lot to learn in ringcraft from the ducking and dodging Bendigo. And with the green turf for a mat, Bendy learned from him the secret of many a north-country fall, chip, and throw.
1957 A. MacNab Bulls of Iberia xii. 136 As for the lidia, the general ringcraft, he admits he knew nothing of it and cared less.
1976 Daily Record (Glasgow) 29 Nov. One of the greatest exponents of ringcraft British boxing has produced.
2000 Guardian 2 Oct. i. 20/6 Had they fought under modern rules over 12 rounds, Winstone's exquisite ringcraft and unquenchable spirit might well have prevailed.
† ring crib n. Mining Obsolete a circular crib (crib n. 12) with an open top.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > mining equipment > [noun] > pit supports
yoking1653
set1830
crib1839
tub1839
wedging crib1839
cribbing1841
ring crib1849
tack1849
tymp1883
1849 G. C. Greenwell Gloss. Terms Coal Trade Northumberland & Durham 19 A ring crib may be made of metal or oak, of the same size as a wedging crib. It is open at the top, for the purpose of collecting water, which would otherwise fall down the pit.
1887 Trans. Mining Inst. Scotl. 8 237 A ring crib is laid at the bottom and fresh piles driven down, and so on until the stone-head is reached.
1892 R. O. Heslop Northumberland Words I. 199 A ring crib is an arrangement for catching water which would otherwise fall down the shaft.
ring cross n. Archaeology the figure of a cross enclosed in a ring or circle.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > artefacts > symbol (general) > Christian symbols or images > [noun] > cross > enclosed in ring
ring cross1882
1882 M. E. Gooday tr. J. J. A. Worsaae Industr. Arts Denmark 33 Carved ring-crosses, under which form many other peoples..have constantly represented the sun.
1893 S. O. Addy Hall of Waltheof 93 Ring-crosses may be seen carved upon the lids of many ancient stone coffins.
2003 G. Longden in H. Williams Archaeol. Remembrance 186 The well known Vorteporigis stone from Castell Dwyran may have had a small ring cross added above the Latin inscription.
ring culture n. Horticulture the technique of growing plants (esp. tomatoes and chrysanthemums) in a bottomless cylinder containing soil resting on an inert bed, typically of gravel or ash, through which water is provided.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > [noun] > hydroponics
aquaculture1887
sand culture1916
drip culture1923
aquaponics1937
hydroponics1937
gravel culture1940
ring culture1953
1953 J. R. Booer in World Crops June 246/1 By the ring culture system, the plant is virtually provided with two root systems, one in the soil in the ring supplying mineral nutrients, and the other much larger system supplying water from the porous, well-aerated medium.
1962 H. G. W. Fogg Chrysanthemum Growing ix. 60 Ring culture, a term which was, I believe, first used as a result of experiments, at Tilgate Horticultural Research Station.
2007 A. Bridgewater & G. Bridgewater Self-Sufficiency Handbk. 78/1 A ring-culture system consists of a plastic-lined trough, trench or bed full of a chemically inert aggregate..with the plants being contained in bottomless pots.
ring current n. a current (esp. of electricity) which travels in a ring; spec. (a) a belt of charged particles, trapped by the magnetosphere, which orbits the earth or other planet; (b) Chemistry a circulation of electrons in an annular molecular orbital (e.g. in aromatic molecules) under the influence of a magnetic field.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical bonding > [noun] > a circulation of electrons
ring current1869
1869 Proc. 17th Meeting Amer. Assoc. Advancem. Sci. 260 Polar undercurrents having been formed probably by the deflection of the original equatorial ring-current.
1907 Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 8 521 The exploration of the electromagnetic field of the ring current.
1941 Terrestrial Magn. 46 1 In our theory of geomagnetic storms, we attribute the main phase to a hypothetical electric ring-current.
1956 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 236 522 To find the effect of the ring current on the proton resonance line we have to average over orientations.
1976 Jrnl. Geophysical Res. 81 2701/1 The decay of the proton ring current by charge exchange loss.
2007 T. E. Moore in D. Gubbins & E. Herrero-Bervera Encycl. Geomagnetism & Paleomagnetism 865/1 Other planets that have substantial internal magnetic fields also have ring currents. These include Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus.
ring digit n. = ring finger n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > digit > finger > [noun] > ring finger
ring fingereOE
leech-fingerc1000
leechc1290
leechman14..
medicinable finger?a1475
ring man?c1475
wedding-finger1543
nameless finger1584
medicinal finger1598
physic finger1621
physical finger1623
physician finger1623
medical finger1653
marriage finger1711
ring digit1867
1867 Jrnl. Anat. & Physiol. 1 266 Flex l. hallucis-divided into 4 tendons;..3rd to middle, and 4th to ring digit.
1944 Los Angeles Times 20 July ii. 4/2 The ring digit is now nearer the border of Germany proper than either the thumb or the third.
2005 J. Fincham Spellbinding Power Palmistry 152 A hard knot of skin under the ring digit and on the Water line..is often a sign of arterial blockage.
ring doffer n. a doffer (in a carding machine) covered with separate circles of filleting.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > treating or processing textile materials > [noun] > combing > machine > roller or cylinder > for stripping material from carding cylinder
ring doffer1855
clearer1875
1855 Jrnl. Franklin Inst. May 322 The combination of flyers..and their appendages, with the ring doffer or doffers of a carding machine, by the interposition of a pair or pairs of rollers..may be regularly twisted and wound on without drawing.
1884 W. S. B. McLaren Spinning Woollen & Worsted (ed. 2) 222 Though this is the main feature of the ring doffer, it is divided into several varieties.
1921 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 36 130 Such contributions included automatic machinery for the manufacture of card clothing, the cylindrical shears, the cylindrical press, and especially the ring doffer.
2002 L. Hunter in W. S. Simpson & G. H. Crawshaw Wool 188 There are two different methods of condensing, namely by Ring Doffers or by Tape Condensers.
ring dogs n. an implement used for hauling timber, consisting of two dogs (dog n.1 22) connected by a ring.
ΚΠ
1846 A. Young Naut. Dict. at Dog If connected by a ring going through the eyes, they are called ring-dogs. Both..kinds of dogs are used for lifting timber.
1889 Boston Daily Advertiser 19 Aug. 6/7 5 kegs nails—6 windows and frames—9 coils Manila rope—4 doz pairs ox bows—5 bbls ring dogs—5 cks chains—150 bls hay—360 bu corn—7637 feet hard pine lumber.
1919 J. O. Curwood River's End i. 7 That night I slipped the ring-dogs on you I felt almost like a devil.
2005 H. R. Coursen Wilderness iv. 56 The tools used in the treacherous transport of logs down-river—raft shackles, log tongs, pickaroons, ring dogs, cant hooks, raft doggers, and marking axe.
ring dollar n. historical. originally Australian a Spanish dollar with a circular piece cut out of the centre, an official Australian currency 1814–28.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > foreign coins > [noun] > Australian coins
ring dollar1828
holey (erron. holy) dollar1857
Australian nugget1986
1828 Tasmanian 29 Aug. 3 George Jones, charged with fraudulently obtaining a ring dollar from J. Hardy, was found Guilty.
1855 Banker's Mag. Feb. 123 The central portion was tender for a quarter-dollar, or 1s. 1d.; and the ring pieces, called ring dollars, were valued at 3s. 3d.
1870 T. H. Braim New Homes III. 131 The rest of the dollar, called from the circular piece taken out a ‘ring-dollar’, was valued at four shillings.
1920 V. Ross Hist. Canad. Bank Commerce 427 Another coin of interest in that it possesses a local history of its own, is the ‘ring dollar’.
1992 C. McCarthy Blood Meridian xix. 264 There were doubloons minted in Spain and in Guadalajara..and half eagles and ring dollars and dollars minted in North Carolina and Georgia that were twenty-two carats pure.
ring doughnut n. originally U.S. a doughnut formed in the shape of a ring.
ΚΠ
1877 Peterson's Mag. July 66/1 They had ring-doughnuts on the table three times a day.
1944 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant 6 Jan. 6 (advt.) Ring donuts doz. 14c. Jelly donuts doz. 28c.
2007 1001 Foods to die For 848/2 The ring doughnut is made either by joining the ends of a long strip of dough into a ring, or by using a doughnut cutter.
ring-drain n. a drain enclosing a stretch of ground.
ΚΠ
1800 J. Headrick in Commun. Board Agric. II. xiv. 316 A ring-drain, serving the purpose of a fence, is thrown round the moss at the line where the rising ground commences.
1861 A. Smith Agriculture xiii. 215 It may be well with ring-drains to surround, And from their centres radiaters lead, If practicable this and there be need.
1913 Monthly Bull. Agric. Intelligence & Plant Dis. Jan. 235 The whole field is then surrounded by a ring-drain.
1999 Bull. School Oriental & Afr. Stud. 62 551/1 The earliest use of the classic ‘ring-drain’..appears to be at Eridu, in a monumental building of the Early Dynastic period.
ring-dropper n. now rare a swindler who pretends to have found a dropped ring and then offers to sell it.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > defrauder or swindler > [noun] > confidence trickster > types of
ring-chopper1575
ring-faller1575
guinea-dropper1710
gambler1735
money-dropper1737
ring-dropper?1780
pigeon dropper1858
bunco-steerer1875
?1780 R. King New Cheats of London Exposed 52 (heading) Ring-droppers.
1797 Sporting Mag. 9 315 Low gamblers, ring droppers, sharpers and thieves of every description.
1844 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit xxxvii. 433 Tom's evil genius did not..mark him out as the prey of ring-droppers, pea and thimble-riggers..or any of those bloodless sharpers.
1890 Littell's Living Age 16 Aug. 419/1 The same evening he was loose among the cutthroats and the ring-droppers; in appearance, still a fugitive—in reality, a spy.
1936 Los Angeles Times 18 Feb. ii. 7/2 Present were Helen Hunter and Lou Rowan.., Muffle and Bruce Chapman, ‘Tule’ Gates and Angus MacGillicuddy, the ring dropper.
ring-dropping n. now rare the method of swindling practised by a ring-dropper.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > [noun] > confidence trick > types of
drop-game1785
ring-dropping1788
drop1819
pigeon dropping1850
sawdust game1872
pay-off1915
short con1932
hot seat1933
pigeon drop1937
1788 Scots Mag. July 355/3 (table) Ring-dropping.
1789 T. Leach Cases Crown Law 231 To obtain property from another by the practice of ring-dropping is felony.
1825 R. Southey in Q. Rev. 31 388 A trick which is as stale as the ring-dropping of a London sharper.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 351/2 The ring-dropping ‘lurk’ is now carried on this way, for the old style is ‘coopered’.
1937 Amer. Speech 12 109 Synonymous with ring-dropping since the middle of the nineteenth century, it is very much alive today and is worked in all sorts of guises.
ring dyke n. Geology a dyke that is arcuate or roughly circular in plan, formed by upwelling of magma in a conical or cylindrical fracture system.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > discontinuity or unconformity > [noun] > intrusion > dike
riba1500
dike1802
ring dyke1915
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > volcanic formations > [noun] > lava formations > others
pahoehoe1825
malpais1844
spatter rampart1856
ring wall1858
aa1859
pedregal1881
pillow structure1897
pillow1899
pillow lava1903
block lava1914
ring dyke1915
louderback1930
1915 Summary of Progress Geol. Surv. 1914 (HMSO: Museum Pract. Geol.) ii. 37 The Loch Bà felsite is the most perfect example of a ring-boss, or ring-dyke, anywhere known.
1954 J. F. Kirkaldy Gen. Princ. Geol. x. 119 At Glencoe in western Scotland is exposed a ring complex, consisting of circular ring-dykes.
2009 Gondwana Res. 15 39/2 The Rutig Formation of the Feirani Group is exposed between the Katherine ring dyke and the Katherine Pluton.
† ring-faller n. Obsolete rare = ring-dropper n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > defrauder or swindler > [noun] > confidence trickster > types of
ring-chopper1575
ring-faller1575
guinea-dropper1710
gambler1735
money-dropper1737
ring-dropper?1780
pigeon dropper1858
bunco-steerer1875
1575 J. Awdely Fraternitye of Vacabondes (new ed.) sig. B2 A Ryng faller is he that getteth fayre copper rings,..& walketh vp and down the streetes.., and letteth fall one of these ringes [etc.].
ring farm n. a farm enclosed by a ring fence; chiefly in names.
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1867 E. S. Elliot Copsley Ann. iv. 137 I was to go up in the afternoon, as Madam Shaw had heard of a place for me with Mrs. Hart at the Ring Farm, three miles off.
1886 York Herald 7 Aug. 1/3 The Farm is a ‘Ring Farm’, and most conveniently situated for Road or Rail.
1935 Times 19 Oct. 8/6 Thurlby, Aubourn, in the county of Lincoln, and also at Ring Farm, Cudworth, in the county of York.
ring flash n. Photography a circular electronic flash tube that fits round a camera lens to give shadowless lighting of a subject near the lens, esp. for macrophotography.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > camera > parts and accessories of camera > [noun] > flash-gun or tube
photoflash1926
flash-gun1930
speed flash1940
speed gun1940
speed lamp1940
speed-light1940
flash1945
flash tube1945
electronic flash1946
ring flash1954
1954 Lancet 9 Oct. 740/2 Illumination is obtained by an electronic ring-flash which surrounds the lens.
1978 SLR Camera Aug. 45/2 It is the only 100mm lens which has a built-in ring flash that will continuously focus from 1/15 down to life size.
1999 Amateur Photogr. 18 Dec. 38/1 The reason most ringflash units are seemingly so weak is because they are designed for close-up work.
ring fort n. Archaeology a fort or other position defended by ringed entrenchments.
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society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > fort or fortified town > [noun] > other types of fort
hendecagon1648
grand1670
etoile1727
vitrified fort1777
roundabout1795
ring fort1846
oppidum1847
sea-fort1879
motte-and-bailey1900
motte castle1912
mote-castle1919
murus gallicus1939
1846 H. R. Schoolcraft Notes on Iroquois 22 Interspersed amid this system of common ring-forts of the west there are some of a still earlier period, which exhibit squares and parallelograms.
1935 Discovery Apr. 102/1 Ring-forts of earth or stone represent one of the most common kinds of monuments of antiquity throughout Ireland.
1960 S. Cruden Sc. Abbeys 21 The massive circular stone wall of the ‘ring-fort’, of late Iron Age or Dark Age date.
2007 Independent 9 June 32/2 The area, threatened by plans to build a motorway, is rich in archaeological sites, including tombs and ring forts.
ring fracture n. a fracture in the form of a circle; (Geology) a conical or nearly cylindrical fault associated with cauldron subsidence. [In spec. geological use after similar use of German Kreisbrüche (compare quot. 1919).]
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the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > discontinuity or unconformity > [noun] > fault > other types of fault
heave1802
reversed fault1852
reverse fault1865
step-fault1879
ring fracture1881
overfault1883
overlap fault1883
overthrust1883
trough fault1883
thrust1888
thrust-fault1889
offset1897
cross-fault1900
tear-fault1900
distributive fault1904
cross-break1909
slide1910
strike-slip fault1913
rift1921
splay fault1942
wrench fault1951
megashear1954
transform fault1965
transform1971
1881 T. Wilhelm Mil. Dict. (rev. ed.) 288/2 Longitudinal strain, the strain on a cannon or fire-arm which tends to part it with a ring fracture.
1919 Geol. Mag. 56 469 In some ways the most interesting feature of Old Iceland is the ring-fracture system (Kreisbrüche) of the north-west peninsula.
1921 Internat. Clinics 3 266 A fall upon the buttocks may cause a ring fracture around the foramen magnum.
1965 A. Holmes Princ. Physical Geol. (rev. ed.) xi. 261 The ring dyke..represents the case where the weight of the keystone..has produced the ring fractures within which subsidence..has taken place.
1996 C. Frankel Volcanoes Solar Syst. x. 211 Resurgent calderas are characterized by ring fractures and ‘trap door’ faults.
ring frame n. a spinning machine in which the thread is wound by means of a traveller running on a horizontal ring.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [noun] > spinning > machine > types of
water frame1777
spinning-jenny1783
mule1791
mule jenny1792
throstle1792
jenny1796
muslin wheel1830
hand mule1831
self-shifter1834
ring frame1850
cap-frame1884
trap-twister1884
trap-winder1884
1850 D. W. Snell Manager's Assistant 62 The front rollers of the common Throstle Frame..revolve from 55 to 65 on common numbers,—the Danforth and Ring Frames from 65 to 90 on medium numbers.
1884 W. S. B. McLaren Spinning Woollen & Worsted 166 The latest development of throstle spinning is the ring~frame, which is now superseding the flyer frame entirely in the cotton trade.
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §362 Breaker, hard waste; hard waste tenter; feeds and operates machine which opens out hard cotton waste (waste from ring frames and from reeling and winding machines, cop bottoms and other thready waste).
1998 Textile Month June 22/2 The all-wool yarn is spun on a cotton ringframe, drafting the delivered roving through three pairs of rollers and one pair of aprons.
† ring furnace n. chiefly Metallurgy (Obsolete) a furnace built around a central core of solid brickwork.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > furnace or kiln > furnace > [noun] > types of furnace by shape
philosophers' tower1688
cupola-furnace1716
ring furnace1842
shaft-furnace1874
stack-furnace1877
1842 Pharm. Jrnl. & Trans. 2 377 There are three kinds of furnace which are employed in our laboratories, namely, the common ring furnace, for placing a pan or small still over; the reverberatory furnace; and the wind furnace.
1860 C. Tomlinson Useful Arts & Manuf. 2nd Ser. Iron & Steel 27 A ring-furnace was constructed; that is, a central core of solid brickwork was formed, round which was built a fireplace and hearth.
1926 E. Fyleman tr. B. Waeser Atmospheric Nitrogen Industry 507 Mond cyanises briquettes of barium carbonate and charcoal in a ring furnace.
ring galaxy n. Astronomy a galaxy that appears as a ring of relatively young, bright stars with a central region typically containing little luminous material.Such galaxies are rare, and are thought to result from the passage of one galaxy through another.
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1963 H. C. Arp in Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) Jan. 72/2 There many spiral galaxies in the universe but few ring galaxies.
1974 J. R. Shakeshaft Formation & Dynamics Galaxies 168 The first [piece of evidence] concerns Ring Galaxies, of which about one dozen are known.
2007 S. Van den Bergh in C. Kitchin Galaxies in Turmoil i. 22 (caption) An HST image of Hoag's object, an example of a ring galaxy that may have resulted from a collision between a spiral galaxy and a smaller compact galaxy.
† ring galliard n. Obsolete rare a circular manoeuvre used in manège.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > special movements performed by trained horse > [noun] > unspecified manoeuvre
ring galliard1612
1612 J. Webster White Divel iv. iii A resty Barbary horse Which he would fain have brought to the career, The sault, and the Ring-galliard.
ring game n. (a) a trick involving a ring; (b) a game played by people in a ring, a game involving a ring dance.
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1850 J. Ashburner tr. K. L. F. Reichenbach Physico-physiol. Res. Dynamics of Magn. 130 If I laid my right hand in her left, and, at the same time, my left in her right, as is usual when one extends both hands at once to a friend, she said it seemed to her to run as in the ‘ring-game’.
1886 Lippincott's Monthly Mag. Mar. 239 The ring-games, or ‘carols’, are great favorites, as they were among the English court ladies.
1916 A. S. Neill Dominie Dismissed vii. 98 The ring games down at the school there nearly all deal with love and matrimony.
1972 Times 7 Aug. (Jamaica Suppl.) p. ii/4 She has recorded Kumina music, ring games and Pocomania meetings.
1998 C. Channer Waiting in Vain (1999) xix. 344 Behind her, beneath the thatch-roofed pavilions, the guests were skanking to old rock-steady choons and slamming dominoes on plastic tables and telling duppy stories and teaching the children old ring games.
ring gauge n. (a) chiefly Engineering a gauge for determining the diameter or circularity of a cylindrical or spherical object, typically in the form of a ring; (b) the diameter at the widest part of a cigar, typically expressed in sixty-fourths of an inch.
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1822 J. Paterson Highways of Kingdom 83 Taking my ring as a gauge, you will not have five stones in a thousand that will exceed four ounces in weight... I have had people both working to it [sc. the scales], and also to my ring-gauge: but I have uniformly found, that mine are so much smaller.
1916 D. T. Hamilton High-explosive Shell Manuf. iv. 67 Accuracy for diameter is determined by a snap gage and a ring gage.
1987 P. A. Cooper Once Cigar Maker ii. 56 The widest point on a Clear Havana cigar had to fit the ring gauge exactly.
2005 Chicago Daily Herald (Nexis) 27 Feb. (Neighborhoods section) 2 No girly cigars for me, I said. Give me the biggest one you've got; a 6-inch torpedo with a ring gauge of 54.
ring gear n. Engineering a gear in the form of a ring, having teeth on its inner circumference; (in later use) such a gear or (later) any gear on the flywheel of an internal combustion engine which is driven by the pinion of a starter motor, so communicating power from the motor to the engine.
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1854 U.S. Patent 11,631 2/2 Constructing the feeding-wheel [of a sewing machine] in the form of a toothed annulus or ring gear.
1918 C. B. Hayward Automobile Ignition, Starting, & Lighting (new ed.) 491 When the operator pushes a foot pedal or pulls a lever, a gear is carried into mesh with a ring gear on the flywheel.
1954 R. H. Cochrane Farm Machinery & Tractors (ed. 2) 116 When starting a tractor or when accelerating, there is a tendency for the driving pinion to climb the ring gear.
2008 Daily News (New Plymouth, N.Z.) (Nexis) 6 Dec. (Features section) 15 He would pull the choke out, turn the key and the ring gear wouldn't mesh and I think he called it a few words.
ring gland n. Entomology (in the larvae of some dipteran flies) a composite endocrine gland surrounding the aorta above the brain, involved in the control of developmental processes.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Diptera or flies > [noun] > member of > parts of > gland in larvae
ring gland1937
1937 E. Hadorn in Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 23 481 Since it has been shown that the ring has a glandular function, the term ‘ring-gland’ may be used so long as no homology to other structures in other insects has been established.
1978 Molecular & Gen. Genetics 164 79/2 The ring gland donors were at the late larval stage by which ecdysone production was likely to have begun.
1994 P. J. Gullan & P. S. Cranston Insects iii. 67/1 The prothoracic glands are diffuse paired glands..; in cyclorrhaphous Diptera they are part of the ring gland which also contains the corpora cardiaca and corpora allata.
† ring gold n. Obsolete an alloy of copper, silver, and gold.
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society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > alloy > [noun] > alloy of precious metals > copper, gold and silver
Corinthian brass1601
ring gold1790
Corinth metal-
1790 W. Richardson Chem. Princ. Metallic Arts ii. 165 (heading) Ring-gold.
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 714 Ring~gold, 6 dwts. 12 grs. Spanish copper [etc.].
1884 C. G. W. Lock Workshop Receipts 3rd Ser. 25/1 Ring gold: 49·60 coin gold, 12·30 silver, 23·60 refined copper.
† ring-gristle n. Obsolete rare = ring cartilage n.
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the world > life > the body > structural parts > cartilage > cartilage of specific parts > [noun] > of neck or throat
ringbonec1400
ring?a1425
lavell1530
epiglot1547
flap?1550
weezle1594
cricoid1615
epiglottis1615
over-tongue1615
ring-gristle1615
shield-gristle1615
throat stopper1661
guggle1680
throat flap1683
ring cartilage1690
fillet1693
thyroid cartilage1726
thyroid1840
arytenoid1849
shield-cartilage1881
triticeous cartilage or nodule1891
1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια 637 The second and lower gristle is called κρικοειδὴς, the Ring-gristle.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. xvii. 382/2 The Crycoides, or the Ring Gristle; is another gristle of which the Larynx is framed.
1873 H. Lawson Man. Pop. Physiol. 84 (caption) The ring-gristle.
† ring-head n. Obsolete (a) a machine for stretching woollen cloth; (b) Nautical the elements that make up the floor of a ship.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > treating or processing textile fabric > [noun] > stretching > other equipment
ring-head1601
stenter1875
1601 Act 43 Eliz. c. 10 §2 That no persone..shall have, keepe, or use any manner of Wrinche, Ringehead, Growme, Rope, or other Engine to stretche or straine any roughe and unwroughte Woollen Clothe.
a1642 W. Monson Naval Tracts (1704) iii. 345/1 The Ground and Timber is the Floor of the Ship, and are call'd the Ring-heads.
1677 E. Coles Eng. Dict. (new ed.) Ring-head, an engin to stretch woollen.
1757 J. Buchanan Linguæ Brittanicæ sig. Y4/2 Ring-head, a device for stretching woollen cloth.
1867 P. A. Nuttall Routledge's Pronouncing Dict. Eng. Lang. 546/2 Ring′head.., an instrument for stretching woollen cloth.
† ring hedge n. Obsolete a hedge completely enclosing an estate, farm, or piece of ground; cf. ring fence n.
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the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > enclosing or enclosure > [noun] > that which encloses > an enclosing barrier > enclosing fence or paling
hurdisa1352
gratea1400
palis?a1400
palisade1588
palisado1589
ring hedge1607
impalement1611
ring fence1614
palisadoing1661
the world > space > relative position > closed or shut condition > that which or one who closes or shuts > a barrier > [noun] > hedge or fence > a fence > surrounding
ring hedge1607
impalement1611
ring fence1614
1607 J. Davies Summa Totalis sig. D2v Lo how Apollos Pegasses prepare To rend the ring-hedge of our Horizon.
1777 J. Nicolson & R. Burn Hist. Westmorland & Cumberland II. 151 Along the ring hedge which parts that demesne from Baggray to the common.
1886 F. Redfern Hist. & Antiq. Uttoxeter (ed. 2) 126 It is meered out by small trenches and from thence all along Mr. Fflyer's ring hedge to the barn.
ring horse n. †(a) a horse for running at the ring (obsolete); (b) a horse trained to perform in a circus ring.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > horse defined by purpose used for > [noun] > show or circus horse
jibby-horse1601
desultory1653
liberty horse1853
ring horse1861
1663 Marquis of Worcester Cent. Names & Scantlings Inventions Index p. viii An artificiall Ring-horse.
1861 Windsor Express 5 Oct. The sale comprised 45 trick and ring horses.
1923 C. R. Cooper Under Big Top 170 She is trained to the ‘rosinback’, as the ring horse is called.
2001 D. Carlyon Dan Rice 70 The major investment was equine, $5,000 for ten ring horses and twenty-two baggage horses.
ring hunt n. a hunt in which the animals are encircled by a ring of fire or hunters.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > [noun] > driving inwards > by fire
ring hunt1799
1799 J. Smith Acct. Remarkable Occurr. 48 We met with some Ottawa hunters, and agreed with them to take, what they call a ring hunt, in partnership.
1840 J. B. Finley Hist. Wyandott Mission ix. 220 This tract of land..covered a large extent of country, and was used every fall for their ring hunt.
1873 C. J. Andersson Lion & Elephant ix. 144 By the native chieftains the ‘ring-hunts’..are at times conducted on a very grand scale, both as regards the number of men taking part in them, and the extent of the ground embraced by the cordon.
1921 Humeston (Iowa) New Era 19 Jan. 1/1 There will be a big Ring Hunt on Saturday, January 22.
2006 T. T. Allsen Royal Hunt in Eurasian Hist. 27 Ring hunts are closely associated with the exercise of political authority.
ring hunting n. hunting in which the animals are encircled by a ring of fire or hunters.
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1799 J. Smith Acct. Remarkable Occurr. 48 This put an end to our ring hunting this season.
1872 Baily's Monthly Mag. Nov. 340 On trotting away to Wellwood, a leash were quickly on foot that afforded plenty of ring-hunting in covert with an indifferent scent.
1960 H. S. Arnow Seedtime on Cumberland v. 100 They knew how to hunt the deer, both by stalking and ring hunting; at times fire was used to form the ring, and then it was pitiful to see and hear the surrounded deer.
2001 S. P. Srivastava Jahangir vii. 131 Ring-hunting ground.
ring joint n. (a) a pipe joint formed of circular flanges; (b) Entomology each of several very short segments at the base of the antennal flagellum in some hymenoptera.
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1837 U.S. Patent 5,032 1/2 The yielding of which plate shall give sufficient room for the expansion of the pipe, thereby avoiding the necessity of using stuffing boxes, or the ordinary copper hemispherical ring joint for side pipes of steam engines.
1888 J. H. Comstock Introd. Entomol. ii. 11 The funicle is that part of the clavola between the club and the ring-joints.
1925 A. D. Imms Gen. Textbk. Entomol. 14 In some insects, particularly among Hymenoptera, the flagellum is divisible into the ring-joints, the funicle, and the club.
1994 Offshore (Nexis) Oct. 88 The flange faces are pressed tightly together giving a rigid union that functions like a ring joint.
ring junction n. a road junction at which traffic is channelled in two directions round a central island, entering and leaving by smaller islands.
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society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > junction of roads, paths, or tracks > [noun] > types of road junction
clover-leaf1933
interchange1944
T-junction1954
Y junction1961
spaghetti1963
box junction1964
box1966
spaghetti junction1971
ring junction1972
gyratory1983
1972 Guardian 26 June 1/3 In this new ring junction traffic turning right goes between the island in the centre and the off-side mini-roundabout.
2003 M. Rogers Highway Engin. v. 122 Other roundabout configurations include two-bridge roundabouts, dumbbell roundabouts, ring junctions and signalised roundabouts.
ring-keeper n. (a) a person responsible for the safe keeping of a ring; (b) a person responsible for keeping order in a ring, esp. at a prizefight; (c) a guard ring, a device to keep a ring in place.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > boxing > [noun] > official
ring-keeper1860
1788 J. Cooper tr. A. Berquin Children's Friend (new ed.) II. 93 What is it to me? said I to him. Am I your ring-keeper?
1860 Punch 28 Apr. 177/3 The ring-keepers o'erthrown;—The broken ring,—the cumbered fight.
1912 Chambers's Jrnl. 394/1 He organized a body of ‘ring-keepers’ to preserve order as far as possible.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xv. [Circe] 490 The virgins..burst through the ringkeepers and the ropes and mob him with open arms.
1998 Skydiving Mar. 15/4 Griffin inspected Nehl's equipment after the accident. ‘One toggle was fully extended and the other was up, against the ring-keeper,’ he said. ‘This indicates to me that he initiated a maximum control input that created an uncontrollable spiral.’
ring-key n. (a) a key that can be put on a finger; (b) a key fitted with a ring handle, which falls down instead of standing out from the lock.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > key > other types of key
piped keyc1520
pipe key1540
pass-key1633
rose key1663
screw key1742
ring-key1761
Chubb1833
keylet1860
card key1951
key card1966
1761 R. Dodsley Gen. Contents Brit. Mus. ii. 32 There are here are also a Variety of Keys of different Sorts, particularly the Ring Key, which for greater Security they wore on their Fingers.
1852 R. S. Surtees Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour i. vii. 30 Having produced the ring-key from his pocket, Mr. Leather opened the [stable] door.
1917 Jrnl. Rom. Stud. 7 118 There are bronze pendants, a Late Celtic stud or button.., fragments of a chain, three small buckles, a style, tweezers, ear-picks, keys, a ring-key,..and some fragments of thin bronze plate resembling leaves.
1991 N. Holbrook Rom. Finds Exeter 254/1 A similar ring-key was found in the lock of a wooden box or casket at Butt Road.
ring knocker n. (a) a door-knocker having the form of a ring; = sense 3d; (b) U.S. Military slang (with reference to the practice amongst graduates of wearing a class ring) an officer who is a graduate of one of the United States military academies.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > window or door > parts of door > [noun] > door fittings > door-knocker
ringc1405
crow1579
hammer1585
knocker1598
clapper1617
ringle1639
rapper1767
door-knocker1839
ring knocker1841
1841 C. Fellows Acct. Discov. Lycia 143 The door of the tomb..was highly finished, representing frame and nails, and on the panels handsome ring-knockers, all cut in the marble rock.
1958 F. M. Davis Spearhead v. 51 You're a ring knocker from the Academy,..you and your square crew cut and long jaw with the chin in.
1995 G. L. Vistica Fall from Glory (1997) iii. 50 The higher-ranking ring knockers were at the top of the naval food chain.
2009 Register-Herald (Beckley, W. Va.) (Nexis) 11 Jan. Simple brass ring knockers work well with paneled or plank doors.
ring laser n. Physics a laser in which two beams are made to travel in opposite directions around a closed path by means of mirrors, typically used in aircraft, missiles, etc., in order to detect rotation; frequently attributive, as ring laser gyroscope, etc.; (also) any of various other lasers in which the light is made to travel around a ring.A typical ring laser acts as an interferometer: any rotation of the device will create a phase difference between the two beams, which manifests as an interference pattern when they are recombined.
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1963 W. M. Macek & D. T. M. Davis in Appl. Physics Lett. 2 67/1 The sensing of rotation rate with respect to an inertial frame of reference has been demonstrated using a cw He-Ne gas traveling-wave ring laser.
1978 Optics & Laser Technol. 10 276/1 The ring laser gyroscope is being developed..for use in the next generation of airborne inertial navigation systems.
1982 Sci. News 9 Jan. 25/2 A homogeneously broadened two-mode ring laser. This is a dye laser in which the lasing dye is circulated around a cell.
2005 L. Bond Dangerous Ground (2006) xvi. 313 The ring-laser gyros in both vehicles allowed for precise navigation.
ring light n. a circular electronic light used in photography, film, microscopy, etc., to give even, shadowless lighting of a subject close to the lens; spec. = ring flash n.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > camera > parts and accessories of camera > [noun] > lights
photoflood1933
fill-in1955
ring light1956
1956 Jrnl. Paleontol. 30 756/1 Small fossils of which I have been trying to get the best possible photographs... A fluorescent ring light provides an ideal source of even illumination.
1986 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 25 May 59 If close-up pictures lack good lighting, look into buying a ring light for in-close illumination.
1995 I. J. Miller & S. L. Hayes in A. I. Spielman & J. G. Brand Exper. Cell Biol. Taste & Olfaction 101 A circular array of light is supplied..through a ring-light mounted on the objective head of the microscope.
2006 J. Meehan Magic Digital Close-up Photogr. 107/2 The ring light delivers a very even field of light that surrounds the subject completely.
ringlock n. a lock in which a number of grooved rings must be adjusted before the bolt can be drawn.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > lock > other types of lock
inlock1488
treble lock1680
French lock1787
ringlock1789
thumb-lock1801
bar-lock1828
permutation lock1835
check-lock1850
pin lock1851
time lock1858
garret-lock1860
dead lock1866
seal-lock1871
dead-latch1874
Bramah-lock1875
cylinder lock1878
police lock1910
ziplock1956
solenoid lock1976
D-lock1990
1789 R. Gough in tr. W. Camden Britannia II. 243/2 A small brass ring lock was ploughed up in Deeping fields 1740, on opening which the letters on each ring were thus placed together E: R: C: O:.
1856 G. Price Treat. Fire & Thief-proof Deposit. xiv. 205 Two centuries ago the puzzle-lock attracted far more attention than any other... The chief among them are ring-locks.
1868 A. C. Hobbs Constr. Locks iii. 17 According to the kind of handle employed, it [sc. the room-lock] may be a knob lock or a ring lock.
1965 G. McInnes Road to Gundagai ix. 137 I..ambled gently down the drive toward the ringlock gate.
2000 Land (N. Richmond, New S. Wales) 1 June (Trader section) 25/3 (advt.) Qty used fencing including ringlock.
ring-mail n. = mail n.3 2.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > armour > [noun] > mail-armour
mailc1330
mailurec1450
couplet-harness1609
chain-armoura1797
ring armoura1797
ring-mail1804
chain-mail1822
iron cloth1840
mail armour1845
1804 E. King Munimenta Antiqua III. iii. i. 91 The coat of ring mail, or chain mail, seems to have been that, which so encumbered David. that he could not go with it.
1824 S. R. Meyrick Crit. Inq. into Antient Armour I. 181 A housing of ring-mail half riveted.
1885 C. J. Lyall Anc. Arab. Poetry 31 The ring-mail set close and firm.
1956 W. S. Churchill Hist. Eng.-speaking Peoples I. ii. i. 126 They..were clad in proof, but..they cast aside their ring-mail.
1999 S. Heaney tr. Beowulf (2000) 65 Danes are at the table, being entertained, honoured guests in glittering regalia, burnished ring-mail that was their hosts' birthright, looted when the Heathobards could no longer wield their weapons.
ring main n. (a) an arrangement of pipes (for steam, water, sewage, etc.) that forms a loop whose draw-off points are supplied by flow from two directions; (b) an electric main in the form of a loop (so that there is an alternative path for the supply to any point), either connecting a number of buildings to a supply station or a number of outlets to a fuse box; cf. ring circuit n.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > conveyor > [noun] > conduit, channel, or tube > pipe > system or arrangement of
piping1729
pipework1849
pipeline1856
reticulation1859
ring main1868
plumbinga1929
grid1943
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > transmission of electricity, conduction > wire as conductor > [noun] > loop system
ring main1868
ring circuit1879
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical power, electricity > distribution system > [noun] > cable > supplying the public > allowing alternative path
ring main1868
1868 H. Bauerman Treat. Metall. Iron viii. 176 The blast coming from the stoves passes through a ring main.
1892 J. A. Fleming Alternate Current Transformer II. ii. 207 (caption) The Metropolitan Company's system of ring mains.
1930 Engineering 17 Jan. 92/1 In the near future it would probably be necessary to connect these lines by ring mains.
1959 F. G. Goodin & J. Downing Domestic Sanitation iv. 97 The use of ring mains tends to reduce the size of pipes which must be used.
1976 G. Moffat Short Time to Live vi. 53 He'd..modernise the place: put in a ring main, dig drains, build a septic tank.
1996 K. J. Moss Heating & Water Services Design in Buildings v. 127 A steam ring main follows the perimeter of a factory at high level with connections coming off the ring as shown.
ring modulation n. Electronics a form of modulation in which a signal is multiplied with another (typically sinusoidal) one, used esp. with audio signals in order to produce an effect involving unharmonic overtones.
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1938 Brit. Patent 493,340 3/1 The so-called ring modulation connection..is particularly suitable for the complete suppression of the two primary voltages.
1969 Listener 13 Nov. 677/3 In mono the effect of the ring modulation seemed negligible.
2005 K. Coryat Guerilla Home Recording vi. 124 Ring modulation works a kind of frequency-multiplying electronic magic on a signal, giving it non-harmonic characteristics and an extremely off-beat sound.
ring modulator n. [after German Ringmodulator (A. Schmid 1936, in Veröffentlichungen aus dem Gebiete der Nachrichtentechnik 6 145/2)] Electronics a modulator for performing ring modulation on a signal (esp. an audio one), originally comprising a closed loop of four diodes.
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > electronic circuit > [noun] > other electronic circuits
closed circuit1827
magnetic circuit1853
earth return1869
control circuit1892
Armstrong1916
rejector circuit1919
rejector1920
acceptor1921
biotron1921
stabilizer1924
ring modulator1936
squelch1937
load1943
multiar1946
clamp1947
integrating circuit1948
matrix1948
AND gate1959
biocircuit1963
1936 Brit. Patent 458,419 2/1 Here is shown a so-called ‘ring modulator’ formed of copper oxide rectifiers.
1974 Down Beat 18 July 42/2 The ring modulator adds both upper and lower sidebands of sound to the original tone.
2007 GQ (U.K. ed.) Apr. 254/2 [The actor] sat stage right at a small table with a script and a ‘ring modulator’ that makes his voice raspy.
ring-money n. historical (a) circular or nearly circular pieces of metal used as money; (b) = manilla n.1
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society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > other mediums of exchange > [noun] > metal in specific shape
larin1588
ring-money1759
wheel-money1861
bullet-money1879
spade-coin1892
spade-money1892
knife-money1901
1759 B. Martin Nat. Hist. Eng. I. 269 A great quantity of Roman Coins..; those of Silver were Ring-money of diverse Sizes.
1853 H. N. Humphreys Coin Collector's Man. I. 8 (note) A modern ring-money is still in circulation in some parts of Northern Africa.
1929 Amer. Jrnl. Archaeol. 33 122 An outline of the various locations of the finds of ancient ring money and their contents that have been turned up in Dacia has been made by Karl Pink.
2004 G. Williams & P. Bibire Sagas, Saints, & Settlements 77 A further form of supposed ‘currency’ is known from the hoards; the so-called ‘ring-money’.
ring mould n. a mould used to produce a ring or ring-shaped object; spec. a round cake tin with a hole in the centre, which produces a ring-shaped cake (cf. tube pan n. at tube n. Additions).
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1855 Archæologia Æliana 4 102 (heading) On an enamelled bronze cup, and a celt and ring mould.
1890 Ladies' Home Jrnl. Aug. 21/1 Creme a la Suisse. For this most delicious dish procure a ring-mold made of tin, and measuring two inches wide.
1958 Stud. in Conservation 3 113/2 Cross-sections of paint specimens were prepared..by mounting minute chips of the paint in a plastic ring mould filled with cold-setting polyester resin.
1998 N. Lawson How to Eat (1999) 379 I use a 1¼ litre, or 2-pint, ring mould, and pile pale fruit—golden raspberries and white currants if I can get them—dusted with icing sugar to fill the hole.
ring mountain n. a ring- or horseshoe-shaped mountain formation, typically constituting the edge of a large crater (formerly esp. on the moon).In quot. 2002 as a proper name.
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1839 T. R. Robinson Let. 7 Feb. in Jrnl. Franklin Inst. (1840) 25 284 But the Ring mountains, or craters, are much stranger affairs. Take, for instance, Tycho, that bright spot in the south-east quarter, from which the rays seem to run.
1902 W. M. Davis Elem. Physical Geogr. vii. 221 Volcanoes of this form are sometimes called ring mountains.
1940 J. H. Spencer Life on Other Worlds v. 107 The ring mountain formations on the Moon are commonly called craters, from their resemblance to the volcanic craters on the surface of the Earth.
2002 M. C. Kelman et al. in J. L. Smellie & M. G. Chapman Volcano–Ice Interaction on Earth & Mars 198/2 Ring Mountain is a nearly circular feature of unknown age, composed of a sequence of flows of glassy, plagioclase–orthopyroxene–phyric andesite.
ring nebula n. Astronomy a nebula which resembles a ring; spec. (a) (the name of) a prominent planetary nebula (Messier 57) in the constellation of Lyra; (b) a circle of luminous matter surrounding a Wolf–Rayet star.
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1841 J. J. Sylvester in London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 19 589 This is also the case with the ring-nebula of Lyra.
1868 J. N. Lockyer Elem. Lessons Astron. i. 34 The finest ring-nebula is the 57th in Messier's catalogue.
1952 W. J. Miller Introd. Hist. Geol. (ed. 6) vii. 55 Although many thousands of nebulae are known, there are very few examples of ring nebulae of the Laplacian type among them.
2001 J. B. Kaler Extreme Stars v. 121 Ring nebulae are..much more enriched with the by-products of thermonuclear fusion than are planetary nebulae.
ring-oiled adj. Mechanics (now rare) (esp. of a bearing) lubricated by a ring oiler.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > other parts > [adjective] > lubricated
ring-oiled1894
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > extracted or refined oil > [adjective] > smeared or lubricated with oil > in specific way
ring-oiled1894
1894 Trans. Amer. Soc. Civil Engineers 31 354 Shafts are..arranged with heavy floor pedestals, fitted with self-adjusting, ring-oiled, babbet-lined bearings.
1920 J. R. Battle Handbk. Industr. Oil Engin. vii. 421 There have been cases where hot running, ring-oiled bearings have been made to run cool.
1968 J. J. O'Connor Stand. Handbk. Lubric. Engin. xxxv. 11 Lead babbitt..is frequently used as the bearing material for ring-oiled motors.
ring oiler n. Mechanics (now rare) a bearing containing a metal ring which rests on and turns with the journal (journal n. 10), continuously dipping into a reservoir of oil and so automatically offering lubrication.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > other parts > [noun] > lubricators
oil ring1830
grease-cock1839
grease cup1839
needle lubricator1873
oleojector1884
ring oiler1890
1890 Proc. Nat. Electric Light Assoc. 1889 7 119 All of the bearings in which the shafting revolves are of liberal length and provided with bronze ring oilers.
1919 L. H. Morrison Oil Engines iv. 49 The advantage of the chain oiler lies in the greater amount of oil the links will carry to the shaft over that supplied by a ring oiler.
1970 B. Pugh Pract. Lubrication viii. 164 Small [steam] turbines usually have the simplest arrangements for bearing lubrication, i.e. ring oilers or standard type lubricators.
ring oiling n. Mechanics (now rare) lubrication by means of a ring oiler; frequently attributive.
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the world > matter > constitution of matter > oiliness or greasiness > [noun] > oiliness > lubricity or oiliness and slipperiness > lubrication > specific systems of lubrication
ring oiling1892
splash lubrication1906
1892 Louisiana Planter & Sugar Manufacturer 27 Aug. 150/1 These shafts run in the Falls Rivet and Machine Company's ring oiling pillow blocks.
1904 Electr. Rev. 10 Sept. 410 The journal bearings are of the ring-oiling, self-aligning type.
1920 T. C. Thomsen Pract. Lubric. ix. 158 Ring oiling is employed largely on modern high-speed shafting bearings.
2015 D. K. Sarkar Thermal Power Plant vi. 228 Depending on the size and type of the steam turbine..the lubrication systems of steam turbines vary widely and may fall into either one or a combination of a ring oiling and circulating (pressure or gravity) system.
ring opener n. a ring attached to the seal of a can which breaks the seal when pulled, a ring pull.
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the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > [noun] > action or process of opening > one who or that which opens > ring-pull
pop-top1957
pull tab1962
tab1963
ring opener1968
ring pull2005
1968 Times 22 Apr. 11/4 Cans cost roughly 5s. a dozen, but if a tear-off ring opener is added, the cost rises to 5s. 10d.
1975 G. V. Higgins City on Hill iii. 74 He..brought out two cans of beer... They stripped off the ring openers and drank.
2007 S. Nuttall Jeremiah Man xv. 127 Feverishly yanking one free, holding it gripped between his knees, he pulled clumsily at the ring opener.
ring oscillator n. Electronics any of various oscillators resembling a ring in some way; spec. one comprising an odd number of inverters (inverter n. 2b, 2c) in series, the output of the last being connected to the input of the first, which creates a regularly oscillating output, typically used as a high-frequency clock in electronic systems.
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1934 Rep. Progress Physics 1 338 Dye's ring oscillator has no nodes.
1961 IRE Standards Radio Transmitters: Definitions of Terms 487/2 Ring oscillator, an arrangement of two or more pairs of tubes operating as push-pull oscillators around a ring.
1986 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 14 Jan. c3 The speed of electronic components was measured by mounting a number of them in series and measuring the collective response, an arrangement called a ring oscillator.
2005 Make 1 36/2 A ring oscillator uses a chain of inverters looped onto itself to create an unstable system that oscillates.
† ringpen n. Building Obsolete a shaped stone forming part of an arch; = voussoir n.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > arch > [noun] > parts of > voussoir
voussoir1359
coussinet1726
wedge1726
ringpen1832
ring1839
wedge-stone1854
1832 T. Telford Glasgow Bridge. Specif. in Life (1838) App. N.3. 514 The quoins or ring pens of the arches to be of granite, consisting alternately of stones two feet six inches and one foot six inches in length of bed on the soffit.
1874 C. P. Cotton Man. Railway Engin. (ed. 2) 140 This includes all coping, caps, block-in-course, and ringpens.
1904 Proc. Assoc. Municipal & County Engineers 30 86 The faces of the arches were constructed of close picked dressed granite ringpens.
ring-piece n. British coarse slang the anus (cf. sense 7q); = arsehole n.
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1949 E. Partridge Dict. Slang (ed. 3) 1154/1 Ring,..anus (also ring-piece): low: late C. 19–20.
1961 Evergreen Rev. July–Aug. 44 I never met a character but he vaporized when you applied the torch to his little pink ringpiece.
1991 Viz Dec. 25/2 Ow! Ow! Ow! I think me ringpiece has caught fire!
2002 G. Duncan I, Lucifer (2003) 75 ‘And suppose,’ I say, ‘without putting too fine a point on it, I tell you to kiss my mephitic ring-piece?’
† ring-pigger n. Obsolete rare a drunkard.
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the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [noun] > one who drinks to excess
houndOE
drinkerc1200
keach-cup?c1225
gulchcupa1250
bollerc1320
taverner1340
ale stake?1515
wine-bibber1535
bibber1536
swill-bowl1542
malt-wormc1550
rinse-pitcher1552
bibblera1556
ale knight1556
tosspot1568
ring-pigger1570
troll-the-bowl1575
malt-bug1577
gossip-pint-pot1580
black pot1582
alehouse knight1583
worrier1584
suck-spigot1585
bezzle1592
bezzlera1593
cup-leech1593
soaker1593
carouser1596
barley-cap1598
swiller1598
rob-pot1599
Philistine1600
sponge1600
wine-knight1601
fill-knaga1605
reel-pot1604
faithful1609
fill-pot1609
bouser1611
spigot-sucker1611
suck-pint1611
whip-can1611
bib-all-night1612
afternoon man1615
potling1616
Bacchanalian1617
bombard1617
pot-shot1617
potisuge1620
trougha1625
tumbrila1625
borachioa1627
pot-leech1630
kill-pota1637
biberon1637
bang-pitcher1639
son of Bacchusc1640
shuffler1642
suck-bottlea1652
swill-pot1653
poter1657
potatora1660
old soaker1665
fuddle cap1666
old toast1668
bubber1669
toper1673
ale-toast1691
Bacchant1699
fuddler1699
swill-belly1699
tickle-pitcher1699
whetter1709
draughtsmanc1720
bender1728
drammer1740
dram-drinker1744
drammist1756
rum-bud1805
siper1805
Bacchanal1812
boozera1819
rum-sucker1819
soak1820
imp of the spigot1821
polyposist1821
wineskin1821
sack-guzzler1823
sitfast1828
swill-flagon1829
cup-man1834
swiper1836
Lushington1851
lushing-man1859
bloat1860
pottle pot1860
tipsificator1873
tipsifier1873
pegger1874
swizzler1876
bibulant1883
toss-cup1883
lusher1895
stew-bum1902
shicker1906
stiff1907
souse1915
booze-hound1926
stumblebum1932
tanker1932
lush-hound1935
lushy1944
lush-head1945
binge drinker1946
pisshead1946
hophead1948
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Giv/2 A Ringpigger, potator, bibax.
ring-plate n. (a) a plate with a ring for running chains or ropes through; (b) a plate with a ring attached for supporting a pipe; (c) an iron plate underlying a circular door knocker.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > window or door > parts of door > [noun] > door fittings > door-knocker > plate beneath
ring-plate1717
1717 W. Sutherland Britain's Glory: Ship-building Unvail'd 89 (template for indenture) To have [blank space] Ring Plates, to belay the Runners and Tackles to, of [blank space] inches thick, wrought in Proportion to the other.
1826 T. Reid Treat. Clock & Watch Making xv. 298 On this ring-plate, at the outermost circles containing divisions, are laid down the days of the year.
a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 758/2 Ring plate, a ring in a plate attached to a wall to support a steam radiator pipe or coil.
1904 Athenæum 9 Apr. 473/3 The ironwork on some of the doors is noteworthy; the central ring and ringplate..is fairly frequent.
1961 Fowler's Mech. Engineer's Pocket Bk. (ed. 63) 160 This is accomplished by means of a ‘Ringstay’ joint, consisting of an external cast-iron ringplate containing a cast-iron split ring.
2006 A. K. Escoe Piping & Pipeline Assessment Guide vi. 378 The welded ring plate was used to attach rods for two constant spring hangers beneath the steam header.
ring play n. U.S. (in later use chiefly in African-American use or Caribbean) any of various types of games played in a circle with dance movements and singing.
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society > leisure > dancing > types of dance or dancing > round dance > [noun]
carolc1300
carolingc1300
roundc1487
ring dancea1522
round dance1530
ringlet1600
roundel1600
round game1611
circle dance1821
ronde1823
ring play1856
1856 Indiana School Jrnl. July 213 Is the thought ever felt at ring-play, ‘How cheering her presence would be’?
1875 W. B. DeGarmo Dance Society 127 Two scarfs are tied together in the middle to form a cross. Four couples place themselves as in the ring play.
1935 Bull. Folk-Song Soc. Northeast ix. 11 The movement, with upraised hands, is not dissimilar to that in certain types of ring-play.
1942 L. Parrish Slave Songs Georgia Sea Islands iv. 99 This ring-play varies in action wherever I see it done... The tune, however, always remains the same.
1972 R. D. Abrahams in T. Kochman Rappin' & Stylin' Out 222 The numerous songs, ring-play, and verbal routines in Tobagonian Bongo (wake), as performed by adults in the community.
2000 S. Broughton et al. World Music: Rough Guide II. ii. 450/1 A variety of Jamaican folk styles, including jonkanoo, ring play and kumina.
ring-pored adj. Botany (now rare) = ring-porous adj.
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the world > plants > part of plant > part of tree or woody plant > wood > [adjective] > ring-porous
ring-porous1890
ring-pored1893
1893 J. Nisbet On Select. Trees Woodland Crops 11 The branchlets of the ring-pored broad-leaved species of trees rot much sooner than those of conifers.
1909 P. T. Maw Pract. Forestry viii. 164 The so-called ‘ring-pored’ trees—Oak, Ash, Elm, Spanish Chestnut, and Acacia.
1978 A. Bernatzky Tree Ecol. & Preservation iv. 53 Fraxinus, Castanea, Quercus, and Robinia are ring-pored.
† ring-porey adj. Botany Obsolete rare = ring-pored adj.
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1895 W. Schlich et al. Man. Forestry III. 73 To fell a tree and count the concentric rings on the stump..is easiest in the so-called ring-porey broad-leaved species, and in conifers, which produce a darker-coloured summer, or autumn, wood than that formed in spring.
ring porosity n. Botany the quality or state of being ring-porous.
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the world > plants > part of plant > part of tree or woody plant > wood > [noun] > ring or layer > ring-porosity
ring porosity1938
1938 Plant Physiol. 13 113 There are, of course, all degrees of intergradation between ring-porosity and diffuse-porosity.
2004 P. Baas et al. in A. R. Hemsley & I. Poole Evol. Plant Physiol. 279 As far as we know ring-porosity only occurs in deciduous plants.
ring-porous adj. Forestry designating wood and trees, esp. broadleaved hardwood species occurring in dry habitats, in which larger pores are produced in early wood and smaller pores are produced in latewood, resulting in conspicuous, alternating rings of larger and smaller pores when viewed in transverse section.Contrasted with diffuse-porous.
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the world > plants > part of plant > part of tree or woody plant > wood > [adjective] > ring-porous
ring-porous1890
ring-pored1893
1890 Wood-worker Dec. 14/1 The so-called ring-porous woods, like oak, ash, etc., show more strength when their annual rings contain a small amount of thin-walled spring wood and a large amount of thick-walled summer wood.
1928 Forestry 2 65 Under sub-alpine conditions woods which are normally diffuse-porous tend to become ring-porous.
1956 F. W. Jane Struct. Wood xi. 250 Very approximately,..the timber of a ring porous hardwood possesses maximum strength when its growth rings number between 6 and 10 to the inch.
2000 P. Thomas Trees iii. 49 In spring, ring-porous trees tend to leaf out later than diffuse-porous trees.
ring-porousness n. Botany = ring porosity n.
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1916 E. E. Schneider Commerc. Woods Philippines (Philippine Bureau of Forestry Bull. No. 14) 86 Like ring porousness, they are rarer.
1950 C. R. Metcalfe & L. Chalk Anat. Dicotyledons I. p. xlvii Ring-porousness, or the development of a marked zone of larger vessels at the beginning of a growth ring, appears to be accompanied by an increase in the length of the complete vessels in the pore zone.
1998 Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc. 88 70 Vessels in the early wood are larger in diameter than in the late wood giving the specimen a tendency toward ring-porousness.
ring post n. (a) a post used in the construction of scaffolding; (b) each of the upright posts at the four corners of a boxing or wrestling ring.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > ladder > scaffolding > [noun] > part of > pole > used in erection of scaffold
ring post1784
gabbard scaffold1890
1784 J. Watt Let. 11 Sept. in J. P. Muirhead Origin & Progress Mech. Inventions J. Watt (1854) II. 202 Something in the nature of an arch or ring-post be applied to it.
1812 Repertory of Arts 2nd Ser. 21 333 The ring-post going through that plate, it is evident the girder, although made of two pieces, can neither drop nor extend lengthwise.
1891 Oakland (Calif.) Daily Evening Tribune 20 Feb. 4/3 Everything is ready for the five-ounce glove fight... The floor of the ring has been padded and so have the ring posts.
1901 J. Black Illustr. Carpenter & Builder Ser.: Scaffolding 39 The position of an inclined piece to support the bearing of the tie-beam, and..that of a brace to sustain the top of the ringposts.
1976 G. Ryga Night Desk vii. 85 I suddenly lift the pipe an' swing it against the iron ring post, puttin' a buckle in it where none had been before.
2003 W. Nack My Turf 170 The fight called upon all of their will and courage as they pitched from one ring post to another emitting fearful grunts and squeals.
ring pull n. and adj. (a) n. a handle in the shape of a ring, spec. a ring attached to the seal of a can which breaks the seal when pulled; (b) adj. having a ring pull.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > [adjective] > types of
ring pull1917
flip-top1955
pressurized1976
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > [noun] > action or process of opening > one who or that which opens > ring-pull
pop-top1957
pull tab1962
tab1963
ring opener1968
ring pull2005
1917 Good Housek. Apr. 133/3 (advt.) Columbia window shades.... Brackets, nails, ring pull, all are safely wrapped indise.
1968 Times 22 Apr. 1/4 (advt.) Pull in more customers for your beer with our all aluminium ring-pull ends.
1970 Times 16 Feb. (Food in Britain Suppl.) p. iii/3 Easy opening devices are undergoing considerable development—and ring-pull and zip-top cans are already available.
1973 ‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Starry Bird vii. 89 Poor Jacko, who treated birds and ring-pull cans as one problem.
2005 L. Dean This Human Season (2006) xxxvii. 237 John went to get them a beer each and they sparked up their ring pulls, one after the other.
† ring-rathe n. [ < ring n.1 + rathe n.2 (compare rathe n.2 2)] Weaving Obsolete rare a circular arrangement of teeth or pins for separating and guiding warp threads.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > [noun] > weaving > loom > for separating warp threads while being wound
ring-rathe1538
rathe1564
rave1888
1538 in W. H. Stevenson Rec. Borough Nottingham (1885) III. 200 Unum wollenlome cum ryngrathes.
ring room n. (in a textile mill) a room in which ring frames are kept and operated.
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1905 Fibre & Fabric 30 Sept. 201/3 John T. Broadbent, mule room overseer; Thomas Browning, ring room overseer.
1928 Manch. Guardian Weekly 21 Sept. 221/4 The maximum temperatures agreed upon as being ‘reasonable’ are rather startling—80 degrees for cardrooms and ringrooms and 95 degrees for mulerooms.
2003 P. R. Lord Handbk. Yarn Production vii. 180 Burned and worn travelers can fly off and eye protection is advisable in the ring room.
ring rot n. [in sense (b) after German Bakterienringfäule (A. Spieckermann 1914, in Landwirtsch. Jahrb. 46 v. 660)] (a) a disease of pine trees which causes the trunks to decay (now rare); (b) a disease of the potato caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium sepedonicum and resulting in rings of yellow rot in the tubers, a serious problem in parts of North America and northern Europe.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > disease or injury > [noun] > type of disease > bacterial diseases > associated with food or crop plants
fire blight1742
apple blight1835
pear blight1854
leaf scald1870
ring rot1875
angular leaf spot1896
blackarm1902
Moko1913
halo blight1920
1875 A. W. Young Hist. Chautauqua County, N.Y. 377 They [sc. pine boards] were not all rotten as so called, but had ring rot stripes of a spongy appearance, and were used by many for log house chamber floors.
1914 J. Neuman Polyporaceae Wisconsin 17 Lumbermen regard this ring rot as one of the commonest and most destructive of the enemies of the white pine.
1920 E. F. Smith Introd. Bacterial Dis. Plants iv. i. 474 Spieckermann's ring rot of Potato.
1946 Sun (Baltimore) 30 May 7/5 Even though potatoes ‘look nice’ they may harbor the dangerous ring-rot disease.
2003 Independent 14 Nov. i. 6/2 It was hoped that the ring rot outbreak had been caught before it could spread.
ring-rusty adj. (of a boxer) out of practice; below par, esp. after a long absence from professional fighting; also in extended use.
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1923 New Castle (Pa.) News 1 Aug. 17/7 Some fine day when Harry Wills is ancient and ring rusty..there may be a bout between Wills and Jack Dempsey for the heavyweight championship of the world.
1966 Times 14 Dec. 5/2 The champion [horse] showed that basically he was as good as ever, a trifle ring rusty perhaps.
1996 J. Collis Van Morrison vii. 144 ‘Cold Wind in August’, at least, concludes the set in style, but the comeback kid still seemed a little ring-rusty.
2006 L. A. Erenberg Greatest Fight of our Generation iv. 114 Most boxing experts predicted that the ring-rusty veteran would lose to whomever he fought.
ring scaler n. Electronics (now rare) a circuit with multiple scalers (scaler n.3 4) in series, the output of the last being fed back into the input of the first.
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > electronic circuit > [noun] > counting circuit
ring circuit1879
ring counter1942
scaler1945
ring scaler1949
prescaler1954
1949 Nucleonics Feb. 67/2 Several scale-of-2 circuits in tandem provide net scaling factors of 4–8–16–32–64, etc. Other designs, utilizing ‘ring scalers’ or modified scale-of-16 scalers yield decimal scaling ratios.
1963 B. Fozard Instrumentation Nucl. Reactors viii. 79 If the scheme of Fig. 8.4 is extended to form a ring scaler, all the indicating cathodes may be connected together.
ring scalpel n. Obstetrics (now historical) a short scalpel blade attached to a ring worn on the forefinger, used to perform fetal craniotomy.
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1742 Med. Ess. & Observ. (Philos. Soc. Edinb.) V. i. xxxix. 445 (heading) A Ring-scalpel for assisting the Delivery of Women in Child-birth; by Dr. Thomas Simson.
1842 F. Churchill On Theory & Pract. Midwifery iii. xiii. 291 Dr. Simpson, of St. Andrews, invented an instrument which he called a ‘ring scalpel’, for opening the skull.
1913 Jrnl. Obstetr. & Gynaecol. Brit. Empire 23 15 Monro in ‘A Description of several Chirurgical Instruments’, figures a similar ring-scalpel.
1971 S. Sharma in Progr. Drug Res. 15 135 The sharp instruments include knives and scalpels (many variants), saws, ring-scalpels, needles, scissors,..and sharp probes.
ring scissors n. chiefly Surgery scissors having handles terminating in closed rings.
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1889 Amer. Armamentarium Chirurgicum (G. Tiemann & Co.) 69/1 1 Open Ring Scissors.]
1902 Practitioner Feb. 165 The distance from the orifice of the bladder to the perineum is short enough..to clip a piece out of it, medianly, with blunt ring scissors.
1908 Practitioner June 769 Later Mr. Jessop introduced his ‘ring-scissors’, which made this piecemeal removal of the gland an easier matter.
2001 J. A. Nerad Oculoplastic Surg. i. 9/1 When using an iris or ring scissors place your middle finger in one ring and your thumb in the other ring.
ring-seat n. chiefly U.S. = ringside seat n. at ringside n., adj., and adv. Compounds.
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society > leisure > sport > place for sports or games > [noun] > accommodation for spectators
scaffold1470
scaffolding1537
stand1615
pergolaa1641
box seat1779
spectatory1829
ringside1849
box1860
ring-seat1889
ringside seat1897
terracing1902
terrace1950
1889 Boston Daily Globe 8 July 1/6 (heading) High prices for inner ring seats.
1929 P. G. Wodehouse Mr. Mulliner Speaking iv. 134 The sportsman in him whispered that he was missing something good, for ring-seats to view which many men would have paid large sums.
2002 D. C. Gould Follow me up Fools Mountain iv. 169 We had a ring seat at the beginning of a grim harvest as a team of four Saber jets skimmed in over our backs out of the sun.
ring shake n. Forestry partial or complete separation of two or more consecutive growth rings in a tree trunk; an instance of this; cf. cup-shake n.
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the world > plants > part of plant > part of tree or woody plant > wood > [noun] > cleft or shake
lag1579
shake1651
heart shake1802
ring shake1868
gum-shake1887
1868 Trans. Sc. Arboricultural Soc. 4 65 Where trees are affected with ring-shake, the subsoil is generally cold and wet.
1905 Sci. Amer. Suppl. 25 Mar. 24433/1 Ringshake..appears on a cross section as one or more splits running concentrically around the log.
1968 J. Arnold Shell Bk. Country Crafts 84 They used to ‘split the heart’..as this obviated what were known as ‘ring-shakes’.
2002 APT Bull. 33 71/3 Other defects included splits, ring shake, notches, and mechanical damage.
ring shaken adj. Forestry (now rare) (of wood, a forest, etc.) affected with ring shake.
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the world > plants > part of plant > part of tree or woody plant > wood > [adjective] > affected by shake
shaken?1523
ring shaken1842
shaky1868
1842 P. J. Selby Hist. Brit. Forest-trees 324 Its timber, however, even at this age, begins to get shaky at heart, or what is termed ring-shaken, the annual layers or circles at the centre separating from each other.
1906 L. S. Wood in Two Prize Ess. on Adaptation of Land for Afforestation 20 The chief drawback to it [sc. sweet chestnut]..is its uncertainty when it reaches a good marketable size, for it is very apt to become ring shaken.
2007 D. Birbilis & E. Voulgaridis in S. Kurjatko et al. Wood Struct. & Properties '06 34/1 The microscopic observation of the structure of of wooden tissues in ring shaken areas.
† ring-shell n. Obsolete (a) a band of metal encircling a button (rare); (b) a projectile in which the body is made of iron rings; a segment-shell.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > ammunition for firearms > [noun] > bullet or shell > shell > other types of shell
carcass1684
light ball1729
anchor ball1779
shrapnel1810
hollow shot1862
segment-shell1862
blind-shell1864
ring-shot1868
star shell1876
ring-shell1879
pipsqueak1900
Black Maria1914
coal box1914
crump1914
Jack Johnson1914
Archie1915
Little Willie1915
whizz-bang1915
woolly bear1915
fizzbang1916
five-ninea1918
ashcan1918
cream puff1918
sea-bag1918
pudding1919
G.I. can1929
flechette1961
1842 I. Moss Brit. Patent 9394 (1856) 3 Making buttons of woven wire cloth,..the ring shell used for covering the edge of the disc of woven covered wire fabric before the shell is closed on to the edge of the button.
1879 Times 18 Aug. 6/1 No. 11..fires either a common or a ring shell weighing 26lb., with 5lb. of powder.
1899 Daily News 20 Nov. 4/5 It was a ring or segment shell.
† ring-shot n. Obsolete projectiles in which the body is made of iron rings.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > ammunition for firearms > [noun] > bullet or shell > shell > other types of shell
carcass1684
light ball1729
anchor ball1779
shrapnel1810
hollow shot1862
segment-shell1862
blind-shell1864
ring-shot1868
star shell1876
ring-shell1879
pipsqueak1900
Black Maria1914
coal box1914
crump1914
Jack Johnson1914
Archie1915
Little Willie1915
whizz-bang1915
woolly bear1915
fizzbang1916
five-ninea1918
ashcan1918
cream puff1918
sea-bag1918
pudding1919
G.I. can1929
flechette1961
1868 Hist. Mag. June 376/1 They passed through the cannonading of the ships, bombs, chain-shot, ring-shot, &c.
1896 Daily Chron. 8 Aug. 7/3 The guns opened fire with ring shot and shrapnel at long range.
ring-shout n. U.S. regional (southern) in African-American use: a religious dance in which participants move in a circle, accompanied by loud, rhythmic singing; cf. shout n.2 1d.
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society > faith > worship > observance, ritual > kinds of rite > dance > [noun]
canticoy1670
snake dance1772
ritual dance1805
cyclic chorus1846
sun dance1849
Ghost Dance1876
kagura1884
kachina dance1888
Ghost Dancing1890
tripudium1909
ring-shout1926
trance dance1935
Shango1941
society > leisure > dancing > types of dance or dancing > African-American dancing > [noun] > religious dancing
shouting1839
shout1862
ring-shout1926
1926 E. Ferber Show Boat 155 In the Louisiana bayou country she saw the Negroes perform that weird religious rite known as a ring shout, semi-savage, hysterical, mesmerizing.
1931 R. W. Gordon in A. T. Smythe et al. Carolina Low Country 199 The ‘ring shout’..is apparently widespread. In this, the shouters form a circle and proceed around and around in a sort of slow processional, facing always in one direction.
1942 L. Parrish Slave Songs Georgia Sea Islands iii. 54 Shouting appears to be of two types: Along the coast of Georgia and South Carolina the most popular form is the ring-shout.
1970 P. Oliver Savannah Syncopators 56 A ‘ring-shout’—a shuffling dance in counter-clockwise direction performed by a circle of worshippers which gradually intensified in tempo and collective excitement.
2004 Time Out N.Y. 30 Sept. 56/3 This weekend-long celebration of African-American heritage features..a ‘ring-shout’ with schoolchildren and drummers marching and making noise around the periphery of the original African Burial Ground.
ring sight n. a circular sight on a weapon (see sight n.1 14b).
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > parts and fittings of firearms > [noun] > sight > types of
dispart1578
telescopic sight1674
plain sight1686
aim-frontlet1745
hausse1787
foresight1806
gloaming sight1817
night-sight1822
bead1831
leaf1832
backsight1847
globe sight1847
pendulum hausse1850
hindsight1851
tangent scale1859
tangent1861
tangent backsight1862
training pendulum1862
training level1863
peep sight1866
dispart-sight1867
notch sight1867
buck-horn1877
orthoptic1881
aperturea1884
pinball-sighta1884
dispart patch1884
sight bar1884
flap-sight1887
barley-corn1896
ring sight1901
riflescope1902
spotting scope1904
tangent sight1908
Aldis sight1918
wind-sight1923
scope sight1934
gyro-sight1942
1901 T. F. Fremantle Bk. of Rifle vii. 230 The man who uses the ring sight will almost certainly have to change to another if in the course of his shooting the light becomes bad.
1940 N. Monks Squadrons Up! viii. 213 The circular (ring) sight for his eight machine-guns.
2006 W. H. Smith Crossbow Hunting vii. 111 An interesting multiple-reticle ring sight was developed by Hank Robertson.
ring snaffle n. a form of bridle bit with rings at each end.
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the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [noun] > bit
kevela1300
barnaclea1382
bitc1385
molanc1400
bridle bit1438
snafflea1533
titup1537
bastonet?1561
cannon?1561
scatch1565
cannon bit1574
snaffle-bit1576
port mouth1589
watering snaffle1593
bell-bit1607
campanel1607
olive1607
pear-bit1607
olive-bit1611
port bit1662
neck-snaffle1686
curb-bit1688
masticador1717
Pelham1742
bridoon1744
slabbering-bit1753
hard and sharp1787
Weymouth1792
bridoon-bit1795
mameluke bit1826
Chiffney-bit1834
training bit1840
ring snaffle1850
gag-snaffle1856
segundo1860
half-moon bit1875
stiff-bit1875
twisted mouth1875
thorn-bit1886
Scamperdale1934
bit-mouth-
1850 ‘H. Hieover’ Pract. Horsemanship 86 There are various kinds,—the plain, the easy and sharp twisted, the roller, the port-mouthed, the double-mouthed, and the ring snaffle.
1856 C. J. Lever Martins of Cro' Martin 136 I'll have a ring-snaffle put on him.
1922 J. M. T. B. de Souza Elem. Equitation iii. 68 The Baucher snaffle is better than the ordinary ring snaffle.
2006 Eventing Feb. 17/2 I see a lot of horses wearing loose ring snaffles with far too many wrinkles at the corners of their mouths.
ring-song n. a song sung to accompany a circular dance or a game played in a circle.rare between the 16th and late 19th centuries.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > vocal music > types of song > [noun] > song for dancing
carol1303
ballad1508
ring-songa1522
ballet1608
corroboree1847
shout1862
a1522 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid (1960) xii. Prol. l. 193 Sum sang ryng sangis, dansys ledys, and rovndis.
1710 T. Ruddiman in G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneis (new ed.) Gloss. Ring sangis, songs or tunes fitted for these Dances [sc. ring dances].
1885 Overland Monthly Aug. 224/1 They are preceded by a few general suggestions.., and then grouped under the heads of Ring Songs, Prayers and Hymns, Beginning and Closing.
1915 Jrnl. Amer. Folklore 28 263 In most neighborhoods a half-dozen ring-songs exhausted the list.
1950 Billboard 22 July 37/2 Recorded on location in Alabama, the disk includes field and city blues, lullabies, field calls, ring songs, work songs and a wonderful reading of a Brer Rabbit tale.
2002 M. R. Menocal Ornament of World 126 The ring song..broke all the rules of the classical Arabic poem that had come out of the desert and been cultivated lovely and carefully in Baghdad.
ring spanner n. a spanner in which the jaws form a closed ring with internal serrations that fit completely around a nut, putting pressure on all its faces.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > screwdrivers, wrenches, spanners > [noun] > spanner or wrench > ring spanner
ring spanner1905
1905 E. M. Donkin & B. Donkin tr. G. Bauer Marine Engines & Boilers 612 For large heavy nuts the spanners are usually made in the form of ring spanners.
1930 Buck & Hickman Ltd. Gen. Catal. Tools & Supplies 285 Ring spanners.
1970 K. Ball Fiat 600, 600D Autobook x. 121/2 (caption) Adjusting brake shoe cams. Movement of the ring spanner..on the adjusting nut.
2000 P. Vincent Mountain Bike Maintenance 18/2 Tighten the bolt or nut using a ring spanner.
ring species n. Biology a group of closely related organisms, populations of which are distributed geographically in a ring-shaped cline, diverging in opposite directions and culminating in one point on the ring where two populations coexist but cannot interbreed.
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1954 A. J. Cain Animal Species & their Evol. viii. 141 The clearest evidence of geographical speciation is afforded by ring-species, in which two forms that overlap and behave as good species are nevertheless connected by a ring of subspecies.
1992 G. C. Williams Nat. Select. viii. 124 Adjacent populations are often closely similar, more geographically remote populations more divergent. This pattern and its implications for speciation are clearest in ring species, intrinsically isolated compatriots connected by a chain of allopatric intermediates.
2004 Proc. Royal Soc. B. 271 899/2 The circumpolar ring of interbreeding taxa might yet close to form a classic ring species, not by an invasion of herring gulls from North America to Europe..but by expansion of lesser black-backed gulls in the opposite direction.
ring spindle n. the form of spindle used in a ring frame.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [noun] > spinning > machine > types of > parts of
mendoza1803
faller1807
headstock1825
rim wheel1827
traveller1830
ring spindle1837
carrying comb1844
whirler1860
coiler1873
breaking-frame1875
nosing motion1883
tube1884
weigh-box1884
check-band1892
presser eye1892
thread-board1892
1837 Farmer & Gardener 10 Jan. 295/2 The very great speed that may be applied to the ring spindles and travellers..turns the spinning from the cocoons greatly in favor of its being done at one operation.
1892 Pall Mall Gaz. 10 Nov. 5/2 As if a new form of ring-spindle were under scrutiny.
1927 Jrnl. Royal Statist. Soc. 90 230 Ring spindles and mule spindles are not generally equivalent productive units.
2006 D. Edgerton Shock of Old (2008) ii. 37 In the mid-1950s too, investment was at a rate at which it would take decades to replace just the existing ring-spindles.
ring spinner n. now chiefly historical a ring-frame spinning machine; a worker who operates such a machine; cf. ring frame n.
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1834 Jrnl. Franklin Inst. 13 387 A new modification in the arrangement of the rings used instead of flyers in what has been called the ring spinner.
1894 Rep. Strikes & Lock-outs 1892 C. 7403 App. i. 77 (table) Trade... Weavers... Spinners... Ring spinners.
1909 Western Gaz. 25 Aug. 8/3 Ring-spinners..will not be able to compete with cops made on mule machinery.
1922 L. R. Wells Industr. Hist. U.S. iii. xii. 183 The ring spinner... This device was especially adapted to the spinning of yarns suitable for the fabrics most in demand in America.
2005 Perspectives Vernacular Archit. 10 58 Ring spinners were not only paid considerably less than mule spinners but were not represented by a powerful union.
ring spinning n. now chiefly historical spinning performed on a ring frame.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [noun] > spinning > machine > types of > spinning with
ring spinning1847
1847 Boston Daily Atlas 28 Sept. (Electronic text) A Cotton Ring Spinning Machine, by Francis McCulley, of Paterson, N.J., is in operation, and attracts much attention.
1851 London Jrnl. 38 165 In the ordinary method of ring-spinning, the bobbin is driven positively and at an uniform rate of speed.
1884 W. S. B. McLaren Spinning Woollen & Worsted 169 It is one of the advantages of ring spinning, that an ordinary flyer frame can be converted into a ring without altering the spindles.
1904 G. F. Goodchild & C. F. Tweney Technol. & Sci. Dict. 39/1 Ballooning (Cotton Spinning), a defect in ring spinning caused by the high velocity of the ring traveller.
1992 C. Giles & I. H. Goodall Yorks. Textile Mills i. 10/2 Cap and ring spinning were adopted to a limited extent by the Yorkshire cotton and worsted branches after 1870, but never replaced other methods of yarn production.
ring splice n. a loop in a piece of rope made by splicing (see quot. a1884).
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a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 759/1 Ring Splice,..a loop made in a rope by splicing the end to the standing part.
1896 Harper's Mag. Sept. 559/1 He who never saw the sea could make a ‘ring splice’ to shame a sailor.
1984 R. Headland Island of South Georgia (1992) v. 116/2 The whole was about 2m long with a line attached to the shaft by a ring splice which was running free in the slit.
2000 B. Merry & J. Darwin Splicing Handbk. (ed. 2) iii. 35 For a loose collar, attach both ends of the collar to the same ring using ring splices.
ring-stand n. (a) a small stand for finger rings; (b) a stand of circular form.
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the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > jewellery > [noun] > storage for jewellery
jewel box1562
baggier1578
ring-stand1697
jewellery box1773
jewel bag1853
jewellery bag1855
the world > space > relative position > support > [noun] > that which supports > a stand or support to raise from the ground > circular
straw ring1651
ring-standc1865
1697 London Gaz. No. 3298/4 One Ring Stand ingraved with two Coats impaled.
c1865 J. Wylde Circle of Sci. I. 144/1 He should also possess..a small ring-stand, for supporting..vessels in preparing solutions by heat.
1892 Pall Mall Gaz. 6 Oct. 1/3 Brushes and trays, ringstands and powder-boxes.
1964 Current Anthropol. 5 376/2 Both high and low ring stands are used... In the Philippines rare tetrapods are found while in Malaya tripods are present.
2003 Jrnl. Egyptian Archaeol. 89 86 The existence of Horemheb's prenomen on an unpublished faience ring-stand from Serabit el-Khadim..suggests further ‘missing’ royal names may exist in other collections.
ring staple n. a staple (staple n.1 2a or 2d) with a rounded form.
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1783 Philos. Trans. 1782 (Royal Soc.) 72 361 This conductor..was kept in its place near the wall in its passage down by ring-staples driven into the wall.
1841 U.S. Patent 1,931 1/2 To the outer extremities of the parallel rods H are attached bars b which are united at J by a ring staple or otherwise forming a bow or triangle for attaching the cars together.
1897 Auk 14 5 My shoes, particularly the lace fastenings, the carpet tacks, and a pair of ring staples on a box, were all critically examined and pecked at.
1973 R. Steffen U.S. Mil. Saddles, 1812–1943 iii. 34 The sidebars in front of the pommel and behind the cantle are covered with sheet iron, through which staples and ring staples are riveted.
2008 D. L. Lucero Rosas Affair ii. 22 ‘These piles over here,’ Manso said.., ‘contain..twelve large latches for church doors with their locks, keys, and ring staples.’
ring-stopper n. Nautical an appliance that fastens the ring of a raised anchor to the cat-head; a cat-head stopper.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > ropes or chains other than rigging or cable > [noun] > lashings, seizings, or securing ropes > securing anchor at ship's side
painter1336
shank-painter1495
wing-stopper1794
cat-head stopper1830
ring-stopper1834
1834 C. Martelli Naval Officer's Guide 179 (heading) Ring stopper.
1899 F. T. Bullen Log of Sea-waif 342 Telling the carpenter to get his maul ready for knocking out the ring-stopper of the anchor.
1920 Blackwood's Mag. Mar. 326/2 On account of the anchor being held by the ring-stopper, the weighty implement had swung clean through the bulwarks.
2003 J. Stockwin Mutiny 65 A yardarm stay tackle was secured to a ring stopper and shank bridle.
ring system n. a system of rings; spec. (a) Astronomy one around a planet (cf. sense 7e); (b) Chemistry one in an organic molecule (cf. sense 13e).
ΚΠ
1847 J. Müller Princ. Physics & Meteorol. v. v. 297 The ring system [sc. Newton's rings] is most beautifully exhibited in several uni- and bi-axal crystals.
1865 R. A. Proctor Saturn & Syst. iii. 58 Pound,..using an excellent micrometer, considered that the breadth of the ring-system was even somewhat less than the breadth of the space between the planet and the rings.
1926 H. G. Rule tr. J. Schmidt Text-bk. Org. Chem. iii. iii. 578 The ring system of the iminazoles, like that of the pyrazoles, consists of three carbon and two nitrogen atoms.
1954 Househ. Guide & Almanac (News of World) 27/2 Quite moderate optical aid will show its [sc. Saturn's] beautiful ring system.
1960 Acta Crystallogr. 13 553 Ibogaine..is an alkaloid in which an indole ring system is attached to a seven-membered nitrogen containing ring.
2007 E. D. Miner et al. Planetary Ring Syst. v. 70 There have been changes in Neptune's ring system since the Voyager 2 encounter.
ring taw n. now regional a game of marbles in which marbles are put in a demarcated ring and aimed at.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > marbles > [noun] > type of game
taw1709
chock1819
ring taw1828
knucks1840
spannims1847
three-holes1853
knuckle-down1859
bonce1862
spanners1881
stonk1896
1828 Lights & Shades Eng. Life II. 156 ‘I should like to play you a game at marbles.’ ‘Marbles! you mean ring taw’. ‘Yes’.
1861 H. Mayhew London Labour (new ed.) III. 134/2 I've noticed them, too, playing at ring-taw.
1939 Jrnl. Amer. Folklore 52 119 The boys appear with sacks of marbles, shouting the curious argot that accompanies their games of alley-pot and ring-taw.
2001 Observer 22 Apr. (Cash section) 11/1 The Tinsley Green championship game is called ring taw, equivalent to the American ringer play.
ring theory n. Mathematics the branch of algebra concerned with rings (sense 15) and their applications.
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1937 J. von Neumann in Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 23 16 A complete characterization of our systems L in terms of algebraic ring-theory will be described.
1967 L. Rédei Algebra I. ii. 36 The most important chapters of algebra are group theory, ring theory and the theory of skew fields (in particular field theory).
1999 Guardian 28 Oct. (Science section) 7/2 (advt.) Preference may be given to candidates with interest in algebraic topology, geology, algebra (mainly ring theory), number theory and functional analysis.
ring time n. a time of giving or exchanging rings.Chiefly in allusion to the song in As you like it. The reading ring time was suggested by G. Steevens in Johnson & G. Steevens Plays of Shakespeare (1778) (rev. ed.) III. 375 as meaning ‘the aptest season for marriage’, to replace the reading rank time in other editions (for the First Folio's rang time). It is uncertain whether Morley's setting predates the play or was composed for it.
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1600 T. Morley First Bk. Ayres sig. B5 In spring time, the onely prettie ring time, When Birds doe sing, hay ding a ding a ding.
1787 Shakespeare's As you like It v. iii, in J. Rann Dramatic Wks. Shakspeare II. 260 In the spring time, the only pretty ring time [1623 rang time], When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding. [Note] the only pretty ring time],—aptest season for marriage.
1905 W. Jerome in N. Cazden et al. Folk Songs of Catskills (1983) v. 233 Springtime brings the ringtime; come, love, don't be so slow: Change your name and go the game, I'll do the same, my Irish Molly-O.
1916 M. A. Scott Elizabethan Transl. from Ital. p. xlix The poetry of Robert Greene and Nicholas Breton and such anthologies as England's Helicon show how the Elizabethans were captivated by the gaiety and sweetness of just such songs of spring-time and ring-time as Sacchetti and Ser Giovanni wrote.
1920 W. C. Williams Kora in Hell xxii. 77 This song is to Phyllis! By this deep snow I know it's springtime, not ring time! Good God no!
1937 Catal. Copyright Entries (U.S. Copyright Office) 32 88/2 Swing time is ring time; song, arr. Leo Richard. © 1 c. Dec. 18. 1936;..Thelma C. Bybee, Roy, Utah.
2002 J. Datta tr. B. Basu Enemy Within 86 A sleepy voice answered, ‘Could be a bird, probably making its nest..this is spring time, the happy ring time’.
ring toss n. chiefly U.S. a game in which players attempt to throw rings (typically of rope or plastic) around an upright post or similar target.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > quoits > games resembling quoits > [noun]
penny-prick1421
penny-stone?c1475
loggat1541
ringing the bull1815
bull1863
ring toss1870
ringoal1887
rings1906
jukskei1942
cornhole game2002
1870 Ohio Farmer 27 Aug. 557/1 We have noticed since the advent of Croquet, Ring Toss, etc., rosy cheeks have multiplied in cities and villages, and this fact alone should lead parents everywhere to encourage their children to engage in frequent open air games.
1884 Cent. Mag. Jan. 359/1 Demurely watching a game of ring-toss.
1914 T. S. Eliot Let. 7 July (1988) I. 39 There are diversions aplenty: shuffleboard, ringtoss, bridge, checkers, and limericks.
2001 B. Geddes World Food: Caribbean 126 There are games for the kids: a ring toss with rum bottles serving as the target.
ring vaccination n. Medicine vaccination of people or animals in contact with or proximity to infected individuals, as a strategy for preventing the spread of an outbreak of disease.
ΚΠ
1948 C. W. Dixon in Jrnl. Hygiene 46 353/1 In each case the family was vaccinated first, then the inhabitants of the surrounding tents together with close contacts such as relatives, next the village or group of tents and so on, the area covered increasing for 5 days, after which revaccination started again at the centre... The writer calls this method ‘Expanding ring’ vaccination.]
1953 Med. Officer 26 Dec. 309/2 The greatest hindrance to smallpox control by limited or ‘ring’ vaccination comes from the medical profession itself.
1981 J. B. Brooksby in M. Ristic & I. McIntyre Dis. Cattle in Tropics 131 It would seem to be adequate to vaccinate cattle and possibly sheep and deal with any outbreak in pigs by ring vaccination as and when it occurred.
2002 N.Y. Times 13 Oct. 20/2 Critics of the approach argued that while ring vaccination worked with natural outbreaks, it would be ineffective in an attack involving thousands of people infected simultaneously.
ring velvet n. velvet so fine that a width of it can be drawn through a finger ring.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > made from silk > [noun] > types of > velvet > types of
silk velvet1530
refusado1598
French velvet1602
cut velvet1840
piece velvet1871
ring velvet1895
1895 Daily Inter Ocean (Chicago) 5 Dec. 5/4 Thatcher wore wine-colored silk, trimmed with ring velvet and chiffon.
1932 G. Greene Stamboul Train ii. ii. 99 Could you get me five yards of ring velvet?
1960 ‘G. Fielding’ Through Streets Broad & Narrow ii. 84 The bathroom was L-shaped; in addition to the bath it contained..a club-type lavatory upholstered in old ring velvet.
2006 Threads Sept.–Oct. (back cover) Devoré is the finest of velvets and is often referred to as ‘wedding ring velvet’ because its width allows it to slide through a wedding ring.]
ring vortex n. a vortex which rotates around an axis having the form of a ring; = vortex-ring n. at vortex n. Compounds 1.
ΚΠ
1837 Jrnl. Franklin Inst. 19 120 The only known vortex whose axis surrounds a common centre, and which, if that axis should chance to be in a horizontal plane, may gyrate in an upward direction on its inward limit, is the ring vortex, which is sometimes formed artificially, by the discharge of cannon, or other fire-arms.
1870 Nature 22 Sept. 421/1 The generation of a ring-vortex is of course equally beyond the power of natural causes.
1938 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 165 519 Nodal regions separating up and down motions exist, and it is not improbable that these motions arise from the presence of ring vortices.
1995 C. Sagan Demon-haunted World iv. 73 Were the figures caused by strange whirlwinds called ‘columnar vortices’, or even stranger ones called ‘ring vortices’?
ring watch n. a watch set in a finger ring.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > watch > [noun] > particular types of watch
German watch1611
larum watch1619
clock-watch1625
minute watch1660
pendulum watch1664
watch1666
alarm watch1669
finger watch1679
string-watch1686
scout1688
balance-watch1690
hour-watch1697
warming-pan1699
minute pendulum watch1705
jewel watch1711
suit1718
repeater1725
Tompion1727
pendulum spring1728
second-watch1755
Geneva watch1756
cylinder-watch1765
watch-paper1777
ring watch1788
verge watch1792
watch lamp1823
hack1827
bull's-eye1833
vertical watch1838
quarter-repeater1840
turnip1840
hunting-watch1843
minute repeater1843
hunter1851
job watch1851
Geneva1852
watch-lining1856
touch watch1860
musical watch1864
lever1865
neep1866
verge1871
independent seconds watch1875
stem-winder1875
demi-hunter1884
fob-watch1884
three-quarter plate1884
wrist-watch1897
turnip-watch1898
sedan-chair watch1904
Rolex1922
Tank watch1923
strap watch1926
chatelaine watch1936
sedan clock1950
quartz watch1969
pulsar1970
1788 J. T. H. Des Carrieres tr. J. Boruwlaski Memoirs 229 One day this fellow disappeared, carrying away with him some of our goods, worth upwards of sixty guineas; and among other things, a ring-watch surrounded with diamonds.
1812 A. Burr Jrnl. 18 Mar. in Private Jrnl. (1838) II. 354 I shall get the ring-watch to-morrow.
1939 F. S. Fitzgerald Let. Mar. (1964) 53 As it is a lavish gesture it should be a simple present..on the other angle from a ring-watch.
1962 E. Bruton Dict. Clocks & Watches 147 Ring watch, a watch mounted in a finger ring.
2007 M. L. Woelm Ghosts 87th Lane x. 194 I had worn a ring watch on vacation, but brought my wristwatch along as well.
ring winding n. Electrical Engineering (now rare) an armature winding in which the core is a torus or hollow cylinder, and each turn of the winding is threaded through the centre so as to form a helix round the core (cf. Gramme n.).
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical engineering > armature > [noun] > types of winding
ring winding1887
lap winding1892
wave winding1892
slot winding1900
barrel winding1902
bar winding1903
1887 U.S. Patent 372,822 1/1 A hollow cylinder is thus formed, and on this the ring-winding is placed.
1922 A. H. Avery Dynamo Design & Constr. ix. 122 The winding is electrically continuous, and progresses steadily forward round the armature just as with the ring winding.
1978 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 362 152 A ring winding is toroidal.
ring-work n. (a) a circular entrenchment; (b) needlework executed with rings; (c) performance in the boxing or wrestling ring.
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society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > earthwork or rampart > [noun] > trench > an entrenchment > circular
ring-work1643
society > armed hostility > military equipment > production and development of arms > [noun] > art of making mail armour
ring-work1855
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > ornamental textiles > [noun] > other
lacet1822
plaited stringwork1882
ring-work1882
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > boxing > [noun]
defence1549
pugilation1656
fencing1692
boxing1693
the (noble, also manly) art of self-defence1724
noble art1749
bruising1750
ring1770
noble science1778
pugilism1788
sparring1797
the sweet science1810
the fancy1820
pugilistics1820
pugnastics1830
fista1839
scrapping1891
ring-work1899
no contest1922
1643 Lanc. Tracts Civil War (Chetham Soc.) 167 In an orbe or ringe-worke [they] cast up much earthe everye day by the multitude of countrey people forced to the service.
1855 J. Hewitt Anc. Armour I. 63 The interior of the garment [hauberk]..exhibits the ring-work exactly in the same manner.
1882 S. F. A. Caulfeild & B. C. Saward Dict. Needlework 425 Ring Work , an easy work used for forming mats and baskets, and made with small brass curtain rings, single Berlin wools and beads.
1899 Daily News 12 Jan. 7/5 His ring work and generalship were so superior to his exhibition when he first came out that the improvement was almost incredible.
1963 L. F. Chitty in I. L. Foster & L. Alcock Culture & Environment vii. 177 A ringwork beside the Knighton road may be medieval.
1975 J. G. Evans Environment Early Man Brit. Isles vii. 164 Earthworks such as motte-and-bailey castles and ring-works preserve a buried soil and ditch sequence which can be used to extract environmental evidence.
2007 M. Foley Hardcore Diaries 22 When it came to a combination of ring work, promos, and antics that made even grizzled veterans suspend disbelief, no one could beat my friend and mentor Terry Funk.
ring yarn n. now chiefly historical yarn produced by ring spinning.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > thread or yarn > [noun] > spun > in specific way
ring yarn1876
1876 Jrnl. Franklin Inst. Mar. 171 The ring yarn is stronger than the mule, and is better for the warp.
1909 Westm. Gaz. 13 Aug. 8/4 A determined effort is being made by cotton-spinners in Lancashire who produce ring yarn to form an association to keep up prices.
1999 Jrnl. Econ. Hist. 59 400 In 1924 output per spindle hour spinning 20s ring yarn was estimated as follows: United States, 0.031 pounds per hours; England, 0.029 pounds per hour.
b. In the names of birds and other animals. Cf. ringed adj. Compounds. See also ring-dove n., ring-neck n., ring ouzel n., ringtail n.
ring-bill n. North American the ring-necked duck, Aythya collaris, which has a white band around its grey bill.
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1835 J. J. Audubon Ornithol. Biogr. III. 259 In shape, the Tufted Duck, or Ring-bill, as it is called in Kentucky, resembles the Scaup or Flocking Fowl.
1949 E. A. Kitchin Birds Olympic Penins. 46 Far better if they had been officially christened ‘ring-bill’, the common name used by the hunters.
2007 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Jrnl. Sentinel (Nexis) 18 Oct. c10 A ring-bill is smaller than a redhead or bluebill, but the flight is similar.
ring-billed gull n. a common North American gull, Larus delawarensis, which has a black ring towards the tip of its yellow bill.
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the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > family Laridae (gulls and terns) > [noun] > member of genus Larus (gull) > larus delawarensis (ring-billed gull)
ring-billed mew-gull1831
ring-billed gull1839
1839 J. K. Townsend Narr. Journey Rocky Mts. 336 Ring-billed Gull, Larus zonorrhynchus.
1917 T. G. Pearson Birds Amer. I. 47/1 The California and Ring-billed Gulls generally nest together in big colonies on the inland lakes.
1999 Birdwatch Apr. 56/3 A second-winter Ring-billed Gull lingered at Churchdown.
† ring-billed mew-gull n. North American Obsolete = ring-billed gull n.
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the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > family Laridae (gulls and terns) > [noun] > member of genus Larus (gull) > larus delawarensis (ring-billed gull)
ring-billed mew-gull1831
ring-billed gull1839
1831 W. Swainson & J. Richardson Fauna Boreali-Americana II. 421 Larus zonorhynchus,..Ring-billed Mew-Gull.
1834 T. Nuttall Man. Ornithol. U.S. & Canada: Water Birds 300 Ring-billed Mew Gull... Sp. Charact.—Commissure of the stout ringed bill rather longer than the tarsus.
1870 D. Cameron tr. A. Taché Sketch North-west of Amer. 198 The Ring-billed Mew-Gull—Larus Zonorynchus.
† ring bird n. Obsolete = ring bunting n.
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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > seed eaters > [noun] > family Emberizidae > subfamily Emberizinae (bunting) > genus Emberiza > emberiza schoeniclus (reed-bunting)
reed-sparrowa1500
junco1706
nettle-monger1712
night warbler1739
willow-nightingale1774
reed bunting1776
ring bird1837
ring fowl1840
toad-snatcher1848
1837 W. Macgillivray Hist. Brit. Birds I. 453 Black-headed Bunting,..Ring-bird. Ring-Bunting.
1885 C. Swainson Provinc. Names Brit. Birds 71 Reed Bunting... From its collar of white feathers it has received the names Ring bird. Ring bunting. Ring fowl (Aberdeen).
† ring blackbird n. Obsolete the ring ouzel, Turdus torquatus; cf. ring thrush n.
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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > family Muscicapidae (thrushes, etc.) > subfamily Turdinae > [noun] > genus Turdus (thrush) > turdus torquatus (ring-ouzel)
ouzela1525
ring ouzel1673
heath-throstle1676
mountain ouzel1678
rock ouzel1678
amsela1705
tor ouzel1770
ring thrush1785
blackbird1802
Michaelmas blackbird1802
heath-thrush1804
ring blackbird1817
ringed thrush1817
moor blackbird1837
1817 T. Forster Synoptical Catal. Brit. Birds 10 Tvrdvs Torqvatus. Merula Torquata. Ring Ouzel, Ring Blackbird, or Ring Thrush.
1831 J. Rennie Montagu's Ornithol. Dict. (ed. 2) 420 Ring Blackbird (Merula torquata, Ray.)... Provincial.—Rock Ouzel. Tor Ouzel. Michaelmas Blackbird.
1870 P. Gillmore tr. L. Figuier Reptiles & Birds 531 The Ring Blackbird (Merula torquata) differs from the kind we have just noticed.
† ring bunting n. Obsolete the reed bunting, Emberiza schoeniclus, the male of which has a white collar; cf. ring bird n., ring fowl n.
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1837 W. Macgillivray Hist. Brit. Birds I. 453 Black-headed Bunting,..Ring-bird. Ring-Bunting.
1885 C. Swainson Provinc. Names Brit. Birds 71 Reed Bunting... From its collar of white feathers it has received the names Ring bird. Ring bunting. Ring fowl (Aberdeen).
ring dotterel n. now rare the ringed plover, Charadrius hiaticula; cf. ring plover n.
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the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > [noun] > family Charadriidae > genus Charadrius > charadrius hiaticula (ringed plover)
sea-lark1602
ringlestonesa1682
stone-runner1681
sand laverock1694
sandy laverock1710
ring-necked plover1750
towillee1758
sand lark1771
ringed plover1776
ring dotterel1797
ring plover1797
dulwilly1802
ring-neck1837
ringed sand plover1842
stonehatch1852
miller1885
sand-runner1894
1797 R. Beilby & T. Bewick Hist. Brit. Birds I. 334 (heading) The Ring Dotterel. Ring Plover, or Sea Lark.
1863 A. Newton Notes Ornithol. Iceland in S. Baring-Gould Iceland App. A. 404 Along the shore, flocks of wheeling Turnstones, Ring Dotterels and Dunlins attract attention.
1910 A. Chapman & W. J. Buck Unexplored Spain xxxix. 390 Whimbrels had been extremely abundant early in May, together with a few greenshanks, ring-dotterel, and green sandpiper.
2001 R. Hull Sc. Birds ii. 162 Ringed Plover derives from the bird's black collar, hence Ring-neck, Ring Dotterel etc.
† ring fowl n. Scottish Obsolete = ring bunting n.
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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > seed eaters > [noun] > family Emberizidae > subfamily Emberizinae (bunting) > genus Emberiza > emberiza schoeniclus (reed-bunting)
reed-sparrowa1500
junco1706
nettle-monger1712
night warbler1739
willow-nightingale1774
reed bunting1776
ring bird1837
ring fowl1840
toad-snatcher1848
1840 W. MacGillivray Man. Brit. Ornithol. I. 190 Emberiza Schœniclus, Reed-Bunting,..Ring-fowl.
1885 C. Swainson Provinc. Names Brit. Birds 71 Reed Bunting... From its collar of white feathers it has received the names Ring bird. Ring bunting. Ring fowl (Aberdeen).
† ring parakeet n. Obsolete any of several chiefly green parakeets of the genus Psittacula having a ring around the neck, esp. the Alexandrine parakeet, P. eupatria; cf. ring-necked parakeet n. at ring-necked adj. Compounds.
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the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Psittaciformes (parrots, etc.) > [noun] > parakeet > miscellaneous types of
ring parakeet1678
Quaker1776
grass parakeet1840
zebra parakeet1856
1678 J. Ray tr. F. Willughby Ornithol. ii. iv. 115 (heading) The Ring-Parrakeet or Psittacus of the Ancients, Aldrov[andus].
1730 T. Boreman Descr. Three Hundred Animals ii. 126 The Ring-Parrakeet is about fourteen Inches long.
1811 G. Shaw Gen. Zool. VIII. 423 The size of the Alexandrine or Ring Parrakeet is that of a common Pigeon.
1855 E. Blyth Let. 1–8 Oct. in C. Darwin Corr. (1989) V. 464 The common Ring Parrakeets of India & Africa.
ring perch n. North American the yellow perch, Perca flavescens.
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the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > family Percidae (perches) > [noun] > perca fluvescens (ring perch)
yellow perch1791
ring perch1873
ringed perch1877
1873 Marysville (Ohio) Tribune 12 Nov. In the investigation at the Licking reservoir it was discovered that the following kinds of fishes inhabited that body of water, via [sic]: Black bass, lake bass.., ring perch, [etc.].
1947 J. H. Brown Outdoors Unlimited 233 ‘Ring’ perch, or yellow perch as they are more widely called, offer the earliest fishing in this part of the country.
2007 Business Wire (Nexis) 6 June Included on the property are two creeks and five stocked ponds with catfish, blue gill.., ring perch and walleye pike.
ring pheasant n. now historical and rare = ring-necked pheasant n. at ring-necked adj. Compounds.
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the world > animals > birds > order Galliformes (fowls) > family Phasianidae (pheasants, etc.) > [noun] > genus Phasianus > phasianus colchicus (pheasant)
pheasantc1299
ring pheasant1777
swish-tail1796
ring-neck1825
Colchian pheasant1862
Mongolian pheasant1903
Mongolian1909
Kyrgyz pheasant1922
1777 G. Forster Voy. round World II. 567 We likewise saw several beautiful ring-pheasants.
1831 J. Rennie Montagu's Ornithol. Dict. (ed. 2) 424 Temminck says the one found in European preserves is a hybrid, between the common pheasant and the genuine Ring Pheasant..of China.
1909 Auk 26 112 In the introduced Ring Pheasant, I once watched a flock of young birds in flight whose only partly grown tails did not conceal the long legs..that extended backwards.
2016 M. Forsyth Christmas Cornucopia iv. 110 But what about the five gold rings? Well, the ‘gold rings’ are almost certainly ring-necked pheasants, or ring pheasants, as they used to be called.
ring pigeon n. now rare the wood pigeon, Columba palumbus; cf. ring-dove n. 1.
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the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Columbiformes (pigeons, etc.) > [noun] > family Columbidae > genus Columba > columba palumbus (wood-pigeon)
cushata700
culverc825
wood-culvera1100
wood-dovec1386
queest?1440
ringed dove?1533
ring-dove1538
wood-quest1543
wood pigeon1668
ring pigeon1776
woodie1947
1776 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. (ed. 4, octavo) II. Index 785 Wood-pigeon, or Ring Pigeon.
1870 P. Gillmore tr. L. Figuier Reptiles & Birds 424 This is evidence of the possibility of taming Ring-pigeons.
1906 Hist. Coll. Nat. Hist. Dept. (Brit. Mus.) II. iii. 100 Ring Pigeon..(= Columba palumbus, L.).
2001 D. Gibbs et al. Pigeons & Doves 186/2 Common Wood Pigeon... Alternative names:..Ringdove, Cushat, Cushadoo, Quest, Ring Pigeon.
ring plover n. = ringed plover n. at ringed adj. Compounds.
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the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > [noun] > family Charadriidae > genus Charadrius > member of (miscellaneous)
ring plover1797
wirebird1816
Kentish plover1828
piping plover1828
mountain plover1858
the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > [noun] > family Charadriidae > genus Charadrius > charadrius hiaticula (ringed plover)
sea-lark1602
ringlestonesa1682
stone-runner1681
sand laverock1694
sandy laverock1710
ring-necked plover1750
towillee1758
sand lark1771
ringed plover1776
ring dotterel1797
ring plover1797
dulwilly1802
ring-neck1837
ringed sand plover1842
stonehatch1852
miller1885
sand-runner1894
1797 R. Beilby & T. Bewick Hist. Brit. Birds I. 334 The Ring Dotterel. Ring Plover, or Sea Lark. (Charadrius Hiaticula [etc.])... These birds..migrate into Britain in the spring, and depart in autumn.
1802 G. Montagu Ornithol. Dict. at Plover—Ringed The Ring Plover is a plentiful species in most parts of the known world.
1844 Nat. Hist. N.Y., Zool. II. 209 The Ring Plover, or Ring-neck as it is commonly called in this State, arrives here about the beginning of May.
1890 Cent. Dict. at Snowy Snowy plover, Ægialites nivosus, a small ring-plover of the Pacific and Mexican Gulf coasts of the United States.
1943 Ld. Alanbrooke Diary 15 Jan. in War Diaries (2001) 359 We saw..several kinds of waders on the sea-shore, such as sanderlings, ring plover, grey plover and turnstones!
2004 Field Sept. 62/1 ‘Thick-knees’, as they're known locally, also eat the chicks of lapwing and ring plover.
ring seal n. the ringed seal, Pusa hispida.
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1898 Science 22 Apr. 575 The eskimos depend upon the walrus, the seals and the whales; the ring seal (Phoca foetida) is the most important animal.
1926 W. E. Ekblaw in V. E. Shelford et al. Naturalist's Guide Americas 101 Walrus, ring-seal, bearded seal, harp seal, hooded seal, and harbor seal are found in the sounds and off the islands.
2008 Edmonton (Alberta) Jrnl. (Nexis) 14 Sept. g15 Of concern is the future of ‘ice-related species’—not just polar bears, but ring seals, bearded seals and beluga whales.
ring snake n. any of various snakes with a band or bands of contrasting colour around the body; esp. †(a) U.S. the ring-neck snake, Diadophis punctatus (obsolete); (b) the European grass snake, Natrix natrix; (c) Australian the bandy-bandy, Vermicella annulata; cf. ringed snake n. at ringed adj. Compounds.
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the world > animals > reptiles > order Squamata (lizards and snakes) > suborder Ophidia (snakes) > types of snake > [noun] > family Colubridae > member of genus Diadophis (ring-neck)
ring snake1778
ring-neck1791
ring-neck snake1881
the world > animals > reptiles > order Squamata (lizards and snakes) > suborder Ophidia (snakes) > types of snake > [noun] > family Colubridae > member of genus Natrix > natrix helvetica (ringed snake)
water snake1527
water serpent1530
ringed water snake1668
grass snake1720
ringed snake1776
ring snake1901
1778 J. Carver Trav. N.-Amer. 487 The Ring Snake is about twelve inches long.
1836 D. B. Edward Hist. Texas 76 One will meet..at times with that beautiful, small, harmless creature, the ring-snake.
1844 Duncan's Weekly Reg. 16 Nov. 246/1 The Water or Ring Snake is usually found in wells, water holes, or stagnant pools.
1901 Nature 31 Jan. 330/2 The species proved to be the common grass, or ring-snake.
1944 J. Devanny By Tropic Sea & Jungle 165 Specially the little ring-snakes, about fifteen inches long and banded black and white.
2000 J. Colgan in J. Adams et al. Girls' Night In 28 Doug and Spoons' eyes grew as round as a cross-section of the rare Australian ring snake.
ring sparrow n. now rare the rock sparrow, Petronia petronia.
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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > seed eaters > family Ploceidae > [noun] > subfamily Ploceinae (weaver) > other or unspecified types of
mountain spink1611
ring sparrow1678
oxbird1738
fody1792
mountain finch1800
fox-sparrow1869
grasshopper sparrow1883
quelea1930
1678 J. Ray tr. F. Willughby Ornithol. 250 The Ring-Sparrow of Bellonius.
1781 J. Latham Gen. Synopsis Birds I. i. 254 Ring Sparrow... This is bigger than the House Sparrow... Round the head, above the eyes, a ring of dirty white.
1851 Proc. Zool. Soc. 19 143 The Ring Sparrow here takes the place, in a way, of our House Sparrow.
1930 Biol. Bull. 59 149 He finds average diameters of 48 micra for the pigeon, 38 micra for the ring-sparrow.., and 24 micra for the finch.
ring thrush n. British regional (northern) = ring blackbird n.
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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > family Muscicapidae (thrushes, etc.) > subfamily Turdinae > [noun] > genus Turdus (thrush) > turdus torquatus (ring-ouzel)
ouzela1525
ring ouzel1673
heath-throstle1676
mountain ouzel1678
rock ouzel1678
amsela1705
tor ouzel1770
ring thrush1785
blackbird1802
Michaelmas blackbird1802
heath-thrush1804
ring blackbird1817
ringed thrush1817
moor blackbird1837
1785 T. Pennant Arctic Zool. II. Index Thrush, ring.
1832 Hist. Berwickshire Naturalists' Club 1 5 Our..colleague..entertained some slight hopes of meeting with the ring-thrush (Turdus torquatus).
1900 Trans. Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club 1898–9 192 Ring-ouzel, Turdus torquátus... L. N. Ring Thrush, Moor Blackbird, Mountain Blackbird, Tor Ouzel, Rock Ouzel, Ring Blackbird.
1987 Summit May 23/2 Within the Thrush family are two blackbirds, one called the Ring Thrush or Ring Ouzel and the other simply an Ouzel.

Derivatives

ˈring-like adj.
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1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Annelé, ringed,..marked with round or ring like spots.
1698 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 20 173 The Ring-like Wrinkles I have also observed or discovered in the Optick Nerves of the said Fly.
1742 H. Baker Microscope made Easy ii. xxi. 178 On the Back of the Tail-part we may discern some Ring-like Divisions.
1850 J. H. Parker Gloss. Terms Archit. (ed. 5) I. 324 Neck-Moulding. The ring-like moulding which separates the capital from the shaft.
1883 T. H. Huxley & H. N. Martin Course Elem. Biol. 130 The ring-like somite with its pair of appendages.
1930 H. G. Newth Marshall & Hurst's Junior Course Pract. Zool. (ed. 11) xv. 407 The atlas, or first vertebra, is very short and ring-like.
2000 S. Gilbert Tattoo Hist. xviii. 171 The finger tattoo..is restricted to women of chiefly rank and consists of small ring-like bands around the entire finger.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

ringn.2

Brit. /rɪŋ/, U.S. /rɪŋ/
Forms: Old English hrinc, Old English hrincg, Old English hringc, Old English rincg, Old English–early Middle English hring, 1500s ryng, 1500s rynk (Scottish), 1500s–1600s ringe, 1500s– ring.
Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: ring v.1
Etymology: < ring v.1With sense 7 compare earlier ringer n.1 5a.
I. Main senses, directly connected with sound.
1.
a. A ringing sound or noise, esp. of a bell.Recorded earliest in the compounds noon-ring, bell-ring n.Apparently unattested between the early 13th cent. (in a Middle English recension of Old English material: see quot. OE1) and the 16th cent.
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the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > ringing sound > [noun]
ringOE
ringingc1300
ringlinga1398
trongling1398
tinging1495
cling1578
sing-sing1659
tang1669
dingle-dangle1694
chang1788
dingling1822
ding-a-ling1886
clappering1891
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > sound of instruments > [noun] > sound of bell
knellc961
ringOE
bell-dreamc1175
ringingc1300
clinkingc1386
knellingc1440
ding-dong1611
tang1669
jangling1686
jow17..
steeple-music1732
dinging1767
bell-chimea1822
jowl1822
tintinnabulation1831
ring-a-ding1844
OE Rule St. Benet (Corpus Cambr.) xliii. 67 Sona swa þæt beacn þæs belhrincges [a1225 Winteney belhringes] gehyred bið, þærrihte forlæte æghwylc swa hwæt swa he on handa hæfde, and mid ofste þone tidsang þære godcundan þenunge gesece.
OE tr. Theodulf of Orleans Capitula (Bodl.) xxxix. 389 Manega gewuniað þe wenaþ ðæt hy fæsten, sona swa hy nonhringc [OE Corpus Cambr. þa nonbellan] gehyraþ, ðæt hy to þære nigoðan tyde etaþ.
OE Wulfstan Institutes of Polity: De Ecclesiasticis Gradibus (Junius) (1959) 229 And ealswa Crist into þære earce gelaðode, þa þe he þærinne gehealdenne habban wolde, swa man sceall laðian Godes folc mid bellhrincge into Godes huse and hit þærinne mid Godes lofe gehealden.
1574–5 Treasurer's Accts. Burgh Haddington 22 Efter the rynk of the bell.
1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII 17 He..had the Ring of Acclamations fresh in his eares.
1657 R. Ligon True Hist. Barbados 48 At noon and night they are call'd home by the ring of a Bell, where they have two hours time for their repast at noone.
1707 E. Ward Wooden World Dissected 29 He must come to the Ring of Midnight Bells.
1789 F. Burney Diary June (1842) V. 30 They set up such a shout as made a ring all around the village.
1830 T. Chalmers Let. in W. Hanna Mem. T. Chalmers (1851) III. xiv. 278 Delighted in the morning with the ring of Oxford bells.
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. I. vii. 69 ‘Twang, twang!’ came a second report. I knew it was the whale~line by the shrillness of the ring.
1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People vii. §4. 375 Mary Stuart..loved risk and adventure and the ring of arms.
1944 Fortune Mar. 200/1 (advt.) Turn back the clock to yesterday. Across the years comes the ring of biting saws! The crickety squeak of sled-runners and bundled feet, on crispy snow.
1973 F. Milson Introd. Group Work Skill ii. 11 At this, he bounced a coin on the pavement, and with the metallic ring, half-a-dozen pedestrians halted in their tracks!
2007 R. Rozenstein Frontline Reporter iii. 21 A sharp, piercing ring interrupted Nadav's attempts to sleep. Could it be the red alarm clock near Avi's bed?
b. The resonance of a piece of metal (esp. a coin) or (less commonly) glass vessel by which its genuineness or inherent purity is tested. Also figurative (see also ring of truth at Phrases 2 and note at sense 1c).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > ringing sound > [noun] > as a sign of genuineness
ring1653
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > foundation in fact, validity > [noun] > true character, genuineness > quality of
currentness1583
ring1850
1653 Mercurius Democritus No. 53. 421 A silly Thief, and well deserv'd to swing, That could not know pure silver by the ring.
1843 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Mar. 386/2 They have the true ring of the ancient coin of hospitality.
1850 F. W. Robertson Serm. 4th Ser. xxvii. 210 Truth, so to speak, has a certain ring by which it may be known.
1864 A. Bain Senses & Intellect (ed. 2) i. ii. 218 The ring of a sovereign or of a shilling is a criterion of the genuineness of the coin.
1886 W. Besant Children of Gibeon I. i. vii. 177 There does not seem always the right ring about him.
1894 R. D. Blackmore Perlycross III. v. 93 As a glass is filipped to try its ring.
1919 Lit. Digest 14 June 51/2 The ring of a coin will often show its genuineness.
2005 A. Herbert Coin Collecting 101 xli. 222 A negative test involving dropping the coin on a hard surface to determine the metal content by the sound, or ‘ring’ of the coin.
c. A ringing tone or quality, esp. in the voice or in a (recited) composition. Also figurative.Figurative uses are not always distinguishable from those of sense 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > quality of voice > [noun] > ringing quality
ring1845
1845 C. G. F. Gore Cecil ii. v. 233 Even the music of the days of Napoleon has a ring of Sèvres dishes and champagne glasses in it.
1859 J. R. Green Lett. (1901) I. 28 There are some sunny memories..of pacings round and round the room, Pope's Homer in hand, chanting out the lines which, criticise them as you will, have got a ring of old Homer in them.
1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola II. xii. 133 Her voice had gradually risen till there was a ring of scorn in the last words.
1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest IV. xviii. 268 We hear again the old ring of the lays of Brunanburh..and of Stamfordbridge, as we listen to the tale.
1894 S. J. Weyman Under Red Robe iv She continued..with a certain ring of insistence in her tone.
1939 Amer. Lit. 11 111 The notes..have, however, a ring of sincerity about them.
1957 G. Ryle in C. A. Mace Brit. Philos. in Mid-Cent. 264 The word ‘analysis’ has..a good laboratory or Scotland Yard ring about it.
1991 D. Allison in T. Hauser Muhammad Ali xvi. 426 But when Ali tried to hype the fight, his words had a melancholy ring.
2005 G. Verwer in M. Wakely Can it be True? 7 These pages have a powerful ring of reality.
2. A set of (esp. church) bells tuned to one another; = peal n.1 1c.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > percussion instrument > bell > [noun] > set of bells
ring1549
chime1550
peal1630
set1771
carillon1774
musical chime1798
1549 Let. 12 Sept. in N. Pocock Troubles connected Prayer Bk. (1884) 73 Levyng in every churche one bell, the lest of the ryng that nowe is in the same.
1587 J. Hooker Chron. Ireland 102/1 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) II He prophaned the church of saint Patrikes in Downe,..and shipt the notable ring of bels that did hang in the steeple.
a1634 T. Gerard Particular Descr. Somerset (1900) 197 A bell tower of a greate height furnished with a very good ring of 5 bells.
1668 S. Pepys Diary 12 June (1976) IX. 232 Here is also a very fine ring of six bells and chimes mighty tuneable.
1716 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1901) V. 349 The Church is very neat and handsome, and hath a Ring of eight very good Bells.
1794 W. Combe Hist. Thames I. 109 Here was a large and melodious ring of bells, which was considered as the best in England.
1839 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 2 77/2 The Bishop of London..presents them with a ring of bells and an organ.
1872 H. T. Ellacombe Bells of Church in Church Bells Devon ix. 291 The Old Bells of York Cathedral. These bells were the first ring of twelve in the kingdom.
1893 M. H. A. Stapleton Three Oxfordshire Parishes 265 A ‘ring’ of six bells hangs in the church tower of Yarnton.
1938 Oxf. Compan. Music 111/2 The lowest string of the lute and violin used to be called the bourdon, as is still the lowest bell in a ring of bells.
1979 J. P. Dutton & M. Sheehan Plants Colonial Williamsburg 109 Foxglove is from the Anglo-Saxon ‘Foxes-gleow’, gleow being a musical instrument that consists of an arch supporting a ring of bells of graduated size.
2003 J. Dodds Herts. Bellfounders v. xvii. 297 Thomas Mears of Whitechapel installed a new ring of twelve bells in New St Chad's in 1798.
3.
a. An act of ringing a bell; a pull at or press on a bell, esp. a doorbell (frequently in a ring at (also on) the door); the sound produced when a bell is rung.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > signalling > audible signalling > ringing of bells as signal > [noun]
pealc1390
ring1699
teller1868
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > ringing sound > [noun] > act of ringing
ringingc1300
ring1699
1699 A. Boyer Royal Dict. (at cited word) Give it a ring, Sonnez la cloche.
1760 G. Baretti Dict. Eng. & Ital. Lang. II. (at cited word) To give the bell a ring, sonar il campanello.
1785 C. L. Lewes Lect. on Heads by G. A. Stevens iii. 48 A ring at the door called her down stairs to receive a letter from the post-boy.
1813 J. Austen Pride & Prejudice II. ix. 97 She was startled by a ring at the door, the certain signal of a visitor. View more context for this quotation
1836 F. Marryat Japhet II. ix. 77 A ring at the bell called Timothy down stairs.
1886 W. J. Tucker Life E. Europe 227 In reply to my ring, [I] was admitted by the actor himself.
1921 ‘G. Cumberland’ Poisoner 281 Stavart should have faith in the specialist whose ring of the front-door bell might sound at any moment.
1952 D. Friend Diary 17 Sept. (2004) III. 156 Last night, as I was..beginning to think it was time either to go to bed or catch a bus to the West End to the Mandrake Club, there was a ring on the door.
1978 S. Gray Molly i, in Rear Column, Dog Days, & Other Plays (1979) 84 There is a ring at the door-bell, left.
2003 F. VanLandingham Back on Nowhere Road 30 The teacher would ring it by pulling a rope that hung down from the ceiling. Anyone who wanted to get into big trouble could sneak up and give it a ring when he wasn't looking.
b. An act of testing the resonance of a coin. Also in figurative context. Cf. ring v.1 2b.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > coining > [noun] > specific processes > test a coin for soundness
ring1894
1894 A. Robertson Nuggets 175 She was a false coin, which would not stand the test of a ring.
1935 O. Sitwell Penny Foolish 49 Even the proof of friendship, which the loyal friend displays from time to time, giving the coin a ring to demonstrate by its sound that it is true, does not lack disadvantages.
4. A call on a telephone, normally signalled by a distinctive sound; also (now rare) with up. Also: (each of) a series of resonant or vibrating sounds, or now also a distinctive tune or tone, signalling an incoming telephone call; to give a ring (with indirect object): to call (a person, organization, number, etc.) on a telephone. Cf. ring v.1 14.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > communicate with by telephone [verb (transitive)]
telephone1877
call1879
ring1880
to call up1882
phone1889
to give a ring1895
buzz1914
to give (a person) a tinkle1921
to dial up1924
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > [noun] > call or message
call1878
telephone call1878
telelogue1880
telepheme1882
ring1895
phone call1911
buzz1913
phone message1913
tinkle1921
phone1922
telephone1935
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > ringing sound > [noun] > ringing of telephone
ring1895
1895 A. R. Bennett Telephone Syst. Europe 86 The caller then hangs up his phone and awaits a ring from the exchange.
1899 Westm. Gaz. 6 May 5/1 At 3.55,..according to the ring-up from the engine-room, he was four miles from the rocks.
1900 C. H. Chambers Tyranny of Tears 3 [Goes to telephone.] Hullo! hullo! [Gives them a ring up.] Are you there?
1921 N.Y. Tribune 25 May 10/5 I don't care much For Alfred Doane; He says ‘I'll give you A ring on the phone.’
1926 Let. 16 Dec. in S. Walker Roundabout at Bangalow (2001) ii. 61 On Thursday I got a ring up to go to Piggabeen and pick up a bloke there.
1930 J. B. Priestley Angel Pavement iv. 157 I'll just give the City Transport a ring to see if they've heard anything about that lot we sent to Norwich.
1948 Chicago Sun-Times 7 Sept. 47/3 He thought all those other rings were somebody calling ‘central’.
1963 V. Nabokov Gift ii. 137 There's no guarantee the room is not already disposed of, but still I would advise you to give her a ring.
1976 H. Nielsen Brink of Murder i. 9 He dialled his own number... Kevin..answered on the fourth ring.
2008 R. Wyllie Everything you ever Wanted xi. 73 He says, ‘Give me a ring would you. It's important. Okay, Tigger.’
5. Electronics. A sequence of damped oscillations at the resonant frequency of a circuit; an individual oscillation in such a sequence; (as a mass noun) oscillations of this kind.The ringing sound of a bell arises from analogous damped vibrations of the bell at the frequency to which it is tuned.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > [noun] > oscillation > resonance > damped oscillation'(s) at resonant frequency
ring1949
ringing1949
1949 Electronic Engin. 21 207/3 Thus the deliberate introduction of a ring into the response can be a means of improving the sharpness of the transition edges of the observed picture.
1971 J. Earl How to choose Pickups & Loudspeakers iii. 87 (caption) This pulsed-tone shows only slight ‘ringing’... An insufficiently low value load could incite worse rings than this.
1975 G. J. King Audio Handbk. ii. 43 No amplifier worthy of the hi-fi label should exhibit rings or overshoot into a load of pure resistance.
2007 A. L. Hollister Wideband Amplifier Design ii. 117 These same negative elements will also make the transient response look pretty bad by adding a lot of ring and overshoot.
II. Specialized slang uses.
†6. Money obtained by begging or extortion. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > [noun] > personal income or acquired wealth > derived from begging
ring1608
1608 T. Dekker Lanthorne & Candle-light vii. sig. F3v He that neuer alights off a rich Farmer or countrie Gentleman, till he haue drawne money from him, is calld The Snaffle... The money so gotten, is The Ring.
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Ring, money extorted by Rogues on the High-way, or by Gentlemen Beggers.
1796 Grose's Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (ed. 3) Ring, money procured by begging: beggars so called it from its ringing when thrown to them.
7. Australian and New Zealand. the dead ring: a person or thing with a striking resemblance to another, the exact likeness (withof, †for). Cf. ringer n.1 5a. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > similarity > [phrase] > similar
the make1539
eiusdem generis1663
the very spit of1825
spit and image1859
the (dead) spit of1885
the dead ring1899
1899 J. Bradshaw Quirindi Bank Robbery 37 You are the dead ring for the veiled prophet himself.
1916 C. J. Dennis Songs Sentimental Bloke (new ed.) 124 The dead ring: a remarkable likeness.
1948 D. Ballantyne Cunninghams i. xv. 81 They [sc. the sons] were the dead ring of Gil.
1951 D. Ballantyne in Landfall 5 166 A fine little chap. Dead ring of his old man, eh?

Phrases

P1.
ring o' bells n. English regional (northern) (now rare) the common bluebell or wild hyacinth, Hyacinthoides non-scripta (formerly included in the genus Scilla).
ΚΠ
1886 J. Britten & R. Holland Dict. Eng. Plant-names 402 Ring o' Bells, Scilla nutans, Sm. Lanc. (Wigan).
1901 E. D. Marquand Flora Guernsey & Lesser Channel Islands 180 Endymion nutans... Wild Hyacinth... In Lancashire it is called by the pretty name of Ring o' Bells, from the resemblance of the blossom to an ancient musical instrument.
P2. ring of truth: a reassuring or convincing inherent quality, esp. of a statement or utterance.ring of truth occasionally occurs in figurative contexts with the sense of ring n.1 1.
ΚΠ
1843 Illuminated Mag. 1 185/2 There was a ring of truth and good-fellowship in the man's voice, that, as we felt, made us old acquaintances.
1887 R. B. Haldane Life Adam Smith ii. 21 Ponderous though the excellent professor's description is, we can recognize in it a certain ring of truth.
1919 A. Safroni-Middleton South Sea Foam (1920) xv. 285 Perhaps it will not be of place to tell one of the yarns that we heard at the Hermitage,—not a swashbuckling story, but a tale that had the indisputable ring of truth in it.
1968 B. H. Smith Poetic Closure iv. 157 Certain utterances which neither conform to our expectations nor confirm our experiences (verbal or otherwise) may nevertheless have the ring of truth because of a quality that we might call the tone of authority.
2000 Sleazenation Dec.–Jan. 105/5 The Nice New Year's beach party promises to be a stormer, which of course all parties do.., but for once the claim just might have a ring of truth to it.

Compounds

ring-in n. Australian and New Zealand one thing fraudulently substituted for another; an act of fraudulently substituting one thing for another; see ring v.1 18b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > [noun] > fraudulent substitution > instance of
possum1903
ring-in1908
switch1935
1908 N.Z. Truth 22 Feb. 2 As Mrs. Hedley and the ‘old prad’ are also out for life, the ‘ring in’ did not do the crowd behind the ex-New Zealander, Rawmire, much, if any, good, when that gelding won.
1918 A. Wright Breed holds Good 79 Wiseacres would declare that it was another of Maff's ‘hot 'uns’, a ‘ring-in’ probably.
1941 S. J. Baker Pop. Dict. Austral. Slang 60 Ring-in, a horse or dog that is fraudulently entered in a contest under an assumed name and/or disguised.
1969 C. Drummond Odds on Death vii. 152 The elderly book-makers..were his hosts... Past losses were debated... ‘A ring-in after all these years,’ had said a ruined giant of a man disgustedly.
1971 Telegraph (Brisbane) 26 June 5/1 All these are checked against the dog, and the chances of a ‘ring-in’ are completely eliminated.
1985 Canberra Times 29 Nov. 10/2 The alleged mastermind in the Fine Cotton racehorse ring-in..was jailed. Two charges arising from the ring-in of Bold Personality for Fine Cotton.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

ringv.1

Brit. /rɪŋ/, U.S. /rɪŋ/
Inflections: Past tense rang, (rare) rung; past participle rung;
Forms: 1. Present stem Old English hrincgan, Old English hringan, early Middle English hringe, early Middle English hrinȝe, early Middle English ringenn ( Ormulum), Middle English reng (chiefly northern), Middle English ringge, Middle English ringue, Middle English rykande (present participle, transmission error), Middle English ryngge, Middle English–1600s ringe, Middle English–1600s ryng, Middle English–1600s rynge, Middle English– ring, 1500s reyng, 1700s wring; Scottish pre-1700 regn, pre-1700 regne, pre-1700 reigne, pre-1700 reing, pre-1700 rigne, pre-1700 ringe, pre-1700 rygn, pre-1700 ryne, pre-1700 ryng, pre-1700 rynge, pre-1700 1700s– ring. eOE Metrical Dialogue of Solomon & Saturn (Corpus Cambr. 422) ii. 267 He..his searo hringeð.OE Rule St. Benet (Corpus Cambr.) xlvii. 72 Þæt mon ealle tida þæs godcundan þeowdomes..hrincge.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 901 Godd..wollde himm sellf. Þa belless herenn ringenn. ▸ c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 242 Belles deden he sone ringen.c1330 Seven Sages (Auch.) (1933) l. 1363 Corfour belle ringge gan. ▸ 1440 Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 434/2 Ryngyn bellys, pulso.c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 1385 All þe toun rengis [v.r. ringes].c1480 (a1400) St. John Baptist 888 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 248 Scho gert in haste þe bellis rynge.1570 Extracts Rec. in W. Chambers Charters Burgh Peebles (1872) 324 The stepill and knok..to regne xij houris, vj houris, and courfyre nychtlie.1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing v. ii. 71 No longer..then the bell rings.1614 J. Davies Commend. Poems in Wks. (Grosart) II. 20/1 Fro their case thy shrill pipes draw, And make the welkin ringen.1665 in J. Hunter Diocese & Presbytery Dunkeld (1918) I. 404 The bells of the steiple to reigne presentlie, and untill ten a clok at nicht.1716 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1901) V. 217 He..set the Bells wringing for Joy.1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe II. xx. 375 My quarter-staff should ring noon on the steel cap of yonder fierce Templar.1907 E. Wharton Let. 7 Jan. (1988) 111 The crowning charm is the presence, at my bedside, of a telephone that never rings!!!1997 Resource Packet for Neo-Paganism & Witchcraft 27 Yule, the Winter Solstice, is a festival of peace and a celebration of waxing solar light... I ring in the new Solar year with bells. 2. Past tense. a. Weak.

α. Old English hringdon (plural), late Old English ringden (plural), early Middle English ringeden (plural), 1500s– ringed (now regional and nonstandard), 1800s ringded (U.S. regional (in African-American usage)), 1800s– hringed (English regional (Isle of Wight)). OE Beowulf (2008) 327 Byrnan hringdon, guðsearo gumena.lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1131 Þa muneces..ringden þa belle.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12219 Bellen þer ringeden [c1300 Otho rongen].?1548 W. Kethe Tye thy Mare Tom Boye sig. B iv To call Iacke and Wat in the belles out ye ringed.1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene 141 That all the castle ringed with the clap.1650 A. Boun Pride & Avarice Clergie 161 He thought not of his Sermon untill the bell ringed.1679 J. Brown Life of Faith II. 213 Even Caesars Court ringed againe with the noise of it.1726 J. Ayliffe Parergon Juris Canonici Anglicani 477 Then they..put out the Candle, and ringed the Bell.1810 A. Argus Juvenile Spectator 43 Miss Louise run a pin hinto my fingers the other day, becaus hi did not ear when she ringed the Bell.1889 M. G. Tuttiett Reproach of Annesley i. v I hringed's grandfather out,..hringed 'em out mezelf.1896 J. C. Harris Sister Jane 87 De bell done ringded.1941 N. G. Thomas Long Winter Ends 211 'E thought 'is hears was deceivin' un, but the bell ringed again an' again.2008 C. Young My Undercover Lover Bin Laden 237 The phone ringed and ringed and ringed but no answer.

β. U.S. regional 1800s– runged. 1884 J. A. Harrison Negro Eng. in Anglia 7 252 Runged.c1970 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (2002) IV. 585/1 Runged.

γ. U.S. regional 1900s– ranged. c1970 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (2002) IV. 585/1 Ranged.

b. Strong.

α. Middle English–1500s ronge, Middle English–1500s roong, Middle English–1600s rong. c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) l. 12219 Belles þar rongen.c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 11215 A clerc þe commun belle rong.c1390 (?c1350) St. Augustine l. 1642 in C. Horstmann Sammlung Altengl. Legenden (1878) 89 Men rongen þo þreo peles long.?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. l. 12066 Þe hilles alle about rong.a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 3228 Þe sexstenes rong þe belles anon.a1500 (?c1400) Earl of Toulous 322 in W. H. French & C. B. Hale Middle Eng. Metrical Romances (1930) I. 393 When they ronge to the masse. ▸ ?a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 101 Quhill rong the widdis of hir melody.1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. i. 10 The Schooles of the Stoikes, Academikes, and Peripatetikes,..roong of that [prayer].1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. i. sig. Cc5v Through the hous it rong.?c1600 (c1515) Sc. Field (Lyme) 380 in I. F. Baird Poems Stanley Family (D.Phil. thesis, Univ. of Birm.) (1990) 246 All the dales ronge.1626 P. Nichols Sir F. Drake Revived (1628) 23 The Towne..rong out their Bells.1627 M. Drayton Battaile Agincourt 47 With their croaking all the Country rong [rhyme long, hong].

β. Middle English–1600s range, Middle English– rang; Scottish pre-1700 1700s– rang, 1800s werang. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 15040 All þe cite rang [Fairf. range].c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. xxi. l. 472 Men rang to þe resurreccioun. ▸ a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 588 All the foreyste range of the noyse.c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) cliv. 590 The bellis range to matens.a1656 Bp. J. Hall Shaking of Olive-tree (1660) i. 37 Pulpits every where rang of these opinions.1685 A. Wood Diary 21 Nov. in Life & Times (1894) III. 171 Magd. Coll. bell rang out for Mr. Philip Clerke, fellow of that house..who died of the smal pox.1785 W. Cowper Task v. 819 What strains were they With which heav'n rang.1887 C. Bowen tr. Virgil Æneid iii, in tr. Virgil in Eng. Verse 163 The air Rang with her shrieks.1963 S. C. Powell Puritan Village ii. 30 They paid a fee to the man who rang the school bell for the few young Berkhamsted ‘scholars’.2005 E. J. Whitehouse Circles in Sand 296 With expats from all over the world, the clock rang midnight over and over again.

γ. Middle English rounge, Middle English runge, Middle English rungge, 1500s– rung (now chiefly regional and nonstandard). c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) 931 Claplaynez [read Chaplaynez]..Rungen ful rychely..To þe hersum euensong of þe hyȝe tyde.a1450 (a1400) Athelston (1951) l. 351 Whenne þey runggen vndernbelle, He rod in Londone.a1500 (?c1450) Merlin vi. 97 Thei rounge to messe of the day.1591 E. Spenser Prosopopoia in Complaints 583 Bells and bosses..full lowdly rung.1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vii. 562 The Heav'ns and all the Constellations rung.1676 A. Wood Life & Times (1892) II. 360 The great bell rung out.1797 R. Southey Joan of Arc vi On the batter'd shield Rung the loud lance.1837 B. Disraeli Venetia II. 91 One with whose name the world rung.1915 Atlantic Reporter 91 1038 The company..was not negligent if it rung the bell but did not sound the whistle.2006 D. Koontz Brother Odd 145 The day they went and the bell rung.

δ. U.S. regional 1800s ring', 1900s– ring. 1884 J. A. Harrison Negro Eng. in Anglia 7 252 Ring'.c1970 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (2002) IV. 585/1 Ring.

3. Past participle. a. Weak.

α. Old English gehringed, Old English gehringod, early Middle English ȝerinde, early Middle English ȝerinȝod, 1500s–1600s (1700s– regional) ringed. OE Rule St. Benet (Corpus Cambr.) xlviii. 73 Sy se non geradod and sy gehringed [a1225 Winteney ȝerinȝod], þonne seo eahteoðe tid bið healf agan.OE Regularis Concordia (Tiber.) (1993) xxxii. 63 Signa simul non pulsantur : beacnu samod na beoþ gehringede.a1225 ( Rule St. Benet (Winteney) (1888) xlvii. 97 (heading) Be þam ȝodcundan tyde hu careful sceall beon þeo bellrinȝestre þat hiȝ beon ariht ȝerinde.1577 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. Epist. Ephesians f. 206 v The Gospell..hath ringed a long tyme already in our eares.1660 R. Baxter Sermon of Repentance 44 The Land hath ringed with complaints and threatnings against my self, for publishing a little of the mixture of Jesuiticall and Familisticall contrivances.1766 in B. Murdoch Hist. Nova-Scotia (1866) 466 John Callbeck..has..taken care of the Courthouse for three years.., sawed wood and ringed the bell for all Courts.1774 in S. Orcutt Hist. Stratford & Bridgeport, Conn. (1886) 484 Voted that ye Society are willing to have the bell ringed at ye usual time on Sabbath days.1875 E. D. E. N. Southworth Bride of Llewellyn 241 The first tea-bell had ringed, and I knowed how she would come there next.1884 J. A. Harrison Negro Eng. in Anglia 7 252 Ringed.1970 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (2002) IV. 585/1 Ringed.

β. 1800s– ranged (nonstandard and regional). 1863 London Society July 3 The bell was ‘ranged’ like to break it, and bring the house down.1970 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (2002) IV. 585/1 Ranged.

γ. U.S. regional 1800s runged. 1876 ‘S. Coolidge’ Nine Little Goslings 193 Has the dinner-bell runged yet?1884 J. A. Harrison Negro Eng. in Anglia 7 252 Runged.

b. Strong.

α. Middle English irunge, Middle English irungen, Middle English roungen, Middle English runge, Middle English rungen, Middle English rungyn, Middle English rvnge, Middle English yroung, Middle English–1500s rounge, 1600s– rung; Scottish pre-1700 roung, pre-1700 rovnine, pre-1700 rungin, pre-1700 rungyn, pre-1700 rungyne, pre-1700 rungynne, pre-1700 rvng, pre-1700 rwnging, pre-1700 yroung, pre-1700 1700s– rung. c1225 (?OE) Soul's Addr. to Body (Worcester) (Fragm. E) l. 27 Ne mostes þu iheren..Þeo bellen rungen.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) 14693 No belle i-rungen, no masse isunge.c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Cambr.) (1901) l. 1016 Or eny day was sprunge, Oþer belle irunge.a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 5266 Fooles can not holde her tunge A fooles belle is soone runge.a1500 ( Chron. H. Knighton (1895) II. 139 He hath rungen ȝoure belle.a1500 Lancelot of Laik (1870) l. 328 Ye fresch enditing of his laiting toung Out throuch yis world so wid is yroung.c1542 in Archaeologia (1887) 50 49 Call for help whan it ys rounge wt moo.1568 (a1500) Freiris Berwik 276 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1930) IV. 269 Curfur wes rung.1570 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xxiv. 72 Quhill Drureis bells be roung about ȝour eiris.1684 T. Burnet Theory of Earth ii. 276 All antiquity would have rung of it.1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. III. 371 The bell is rung at Cirknitz.1811 M. R. Mitford Let. 2 Apr. in A. G. L'Estrange Life M. R. Mitford (1870) I. v. 127 No bells were rung in the castle for a month.1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 64 The sound of a bell rung under water.1968 J. Camp Discovering Bells & Bellringing 35 Before ringing can start, the bells have to be ‘rung up’ so that each is set ready mouth upwards.

β. Middle English ironge, Middle English regon (transmission error), Middle English rongon, Middle English roonge, Middle English yronge, Middle English–1500s ronge, Middle English–1500s rongen, Middle English–1600s rong; Scottish pre-1700 rong, pre-1700 ronging, pre-1700 rongyn. a1350 (?c1225) King Horn (Harl.) (1901) l. 1025 Matynes were yronge & þe masse ysonge. ▸ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 413 Þat þe houres of the day schulde be ronge [L. horæ diei..pulsarentur] at chirches.c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame (Fairf. 16) (1878) l. 1655 Thus was her shame y-ronge.a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (BL Add. 9066) (1879) 332 The belle shulde be rongen [a1500 Cambr. rong] of a maiden.1533 Surtees Misc. (1890) 34 To the merkyt bell be rongen.1594 in F. A. MacLeod Hist. St. Mary's Church, Shrewsbury (1894) 16 The greete bell was ronge owt there.1622 M. Drayton Poly-olbion (new ed.) ix. 141 Mighty Snowdons speech was through Carnaruan rong [rhyme Seint it lowdly song].a1722 J. Lauder Jrnls. (1900) 59 Hearing a bel of some convent ringing and ronging on a tyme in that same very faschion that we beginne our great or last bel to the preaching.

γ. 1600s–1700s (1800s nonstandard) (1900s– U.S. regional) rang. 1656 J. Harrington Common-wealth of Oceana 60 The Fifth Order requiring, That..the bigger Bell in every Parish..be rang at eight of the Clock in the morning.1671 Tintinnalogia 2 Cambridge Forty-eight, for many years, was the greatest Peal that was Rang or invented.1691 A. Gavin Frauds Romish Monks (ed. 3) 127 He having rang his Bell.1749 J. Cleland Mem. Woman of Pleasure II. 125 Mrs. Cole, being rang for by him, came in, and was made acquainted in terms of the utmost joy and rapture.1805 ‘E. de Acton’ Nuns of Desert I. 249 The prayer bell was ordered to be rang.1845 Musical World 20 437 The principal attraction was Madame Anaide Castellan, whose fame as an artist has rang through Europe.1902 Dial. Notes 2 243 The bell has rang.1921 D.J. Howard Stubby Jenks 133 Well pertend yure sick and then start to feal better after the last Bell is rang.c1970 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (2002) IV. 585/1 Rang.

δ. U.S. regional 1800s ring', 1900s– ring. 1884 J. A. Harrison Negro Eng. in Anglia 7 252 Ring'.c1970 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (2002) IV. 585/1 Ring.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with Middle Dutch ringen to sound, ring, resound, make a clear sound, and (all earliest with reference either to ringing a bell or to a bell ringing, apparently showing semantic influence from English) Old Icelandic hringja , Old Swedish ringia (Swedish ringa ), Old Danish ringe (Danish ringe ), all weak verbs, and apparently also cognate with German regional (coastal, rare) ringen to ring (a bell) (strong verb: past participle gerungen ; not recorded in earlier stages of the language), further origin uncertain: perhaps ultimately < an infixed form of the Indo-European base discussed at rook n.1, although the semantic correspondence is not exact. For forms in other Germanic languages apparently reflecting a derivative formation from the same base see ringle v.1; an ablaut variant of the same Germanic base is probably shown by Old Icelandic hrang noise, din, hrǫngl noise, din, disturbance, and related words, and another by Swedish runga and Danish runge to resound and related words.A rare example of an originally weak verb (in Old English weak Class I) developing strong inflections. Strong forms are first attested in the 13th cent., and very quickly become the norm; they are clearly modelled on those of verbs of the Old English strong Class III conjugation (perhaps most immediately on the analogy of sing v.1, with which the word often appears in collocation). In modern English weak inflections survive only in regional and nonstandard use. Scots forms in -gn- are perhaps inverse spellings, by analogy with spellings of e.g. reign v.; perhaps compare similar spelling variation shown by ring n.1 With sense 19 compare earlier ringer n.1 3b and discussion at that entry.
Signification.
I. Senses connected with resonant sound generally.
1.
a. To give out a clear, resonant or vibrating sound as certain hard metals do when struck with, or when they strike on, something hard. Also of a trumpet or similar instrument: to sound loudly. Also with out.
(a) intransitive. Of material objects generally.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > ringing sound > ring [verb (intransitive)]
ringOE
chimea1340
outringa1425
dong1587
ding-dong1659
tang1686
re-ring1763
ding1820
dinglea1839
bong1855
dingle dongle1858
tinnitate1866
jing1884
gong1903
pring1927
OE Beowulf (2008) 327 Byrnan hringdon, guðsearo gumena.
c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1742 Now ryngen [v.r. ryngeþ] trompes loude and Clarioun.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iii. 2467 (MED) Euery stroke..Range in þe eyre.
?c1430 (?1382) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 520 (MED) A worldly preest..wiþ fatte hors, and jolye and gaye sadeles, and bridelis ryngynge be þe weye.
c1440 Sir Degrevant (Thornton) (1949) l. 1208 Þay rade..With twa trompets of þe beste Þat range als a belle.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid xiii. v. 68 Quhair is now..Thy vocis sown quhilk as a trumpet rang?
1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Tinnio To rynge or make a sowne as metall doth.
1601 J. Marston et al. Iacke Drums Entertainm. ii. sig. C3v Chunck, chunck, his bagges do ring.
1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. ii. 135 With..many a bang, Hard Crab-tree and old Iron rang.
1723 R. Blackmore Alfred xii. 430 Alternate Strokes ring from their suff'ring Shields.
1768 T. Gray Fatal Sisters in Poems 81 Pikes must shiver, javelins sing,..Hauberk crash, and helmet ring.
1771 J. Beattie Minstrel: Bk. 1st iii. 2 His harp..Which to the whistling wind responsive rung.
1829 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Oct. 691/1 When the trumpet rang out, a murmur awoke among the crowd.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Sir Galahad v, in Poems (new ed.) II. 177 The tempest crackles on the leads, And, ringing, springs from brand and mail.
1878 R. Browning Two Poets of Croisic in La Saisiaz & Two Poets of Croisic 86 The gauntlet rings On brazen visor proof against attack.
1916 G. M. McClelland Path of Dreams 63 In the valley rang Often the cheery cry of noble knights And jovial hunting parties on their way To visit Wartburg castle.
1927 ‘S. Rudd’ Romance of Runnibede 159 The stockwhips would ring out, and our voices echo.
1990 Classic CD July 22/2 His control over the natural trumpet is total, the agile runs and trills ring out, but don't dominate the other soloists.
2007 G. Clews Eboracum 7 Iron rang on stone as the lead horse found the road.
(b) intransitive. spec. of precious metals, coins, pottery, glass, etc., as a mark of goodness, genuineness, or soundness.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > ringing sound > ring [verb (intransitive)] > as sign of genuineness
ring1613
1613 F. Beaumont Knight of Burning Pestle ii. sig. D3 What hath the Diuell coin'd himselfe before me? 'Tis mettle good, it rings well.
1720 J. Swift Let. to Young Poet (1721) 16 You are ever to try a good Poem as you would a sound Pipkin, and if it rings well upon the Knuckle, be sure there is no Flaw in it.
1803 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 93 73 When silver was alloyed with the standard proportion of tin, it proved brittle, and did not ring well.
1844 E. B. Barrett Drama of Exile 87 in Poems I The potter's mark upon his work, to show It rings well to the striker.
1872 Ld. Tennyson Last Tournament in Gareth & Lynette 108 I..heard it ring as true as tested gold.
1894 S. R. Bottone Electr. Instr. Making (ed. 6) 71 The bottle or jar should be..free from flaw or crack. To ascertain this, it should be made to ‘ring’.
1998 Coin News May 37/1 A coin which did not ‘ring true’ was always suspect.
b. intransitive. figurative. With adverbial complement: to impress as having a certain character; to convey a specified impression or inherent quality. Esp. in to ring hollow, to ring true, to ring false.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > foundation in fact, validity > be or remain valid [verb (intransitive)]
standOE
holdc1315
to hold out water1598
to run on all fours1617
hold water1622
to pass for (later as) sterling1641
ring1857
1611 B. Jonson Catiline iv. sig. K3v But Crassus, and this Cæsar here ring hollow . View more context for this quotation
1797 A. M. Bennett Beggar Girl VI. vi. 246 The words rung hollow on Rosa's ear, but did not prevent her exonerating herself from the implied accusation.
1819 W. Scott Bride of Lammermoor ii, in Tales of my Landlord 3rd Ser. I. 48 But there was something under all this which rung false and hollow.
1857 E. FitzGerald Lett. (1889) I. 251 Hafiz and old Omar Khayyám ring like true Metal.
1900 G. C. Brodrick Mem. & Impr. 227 His [sc. Bright's] best orations were superior to Gladstone's as compositions and rang truer on a critical ear.
1937 J. F. Dobie in J. F. Dobie & M. C. Boatright Straight Texas 38 This anecdote does not ring true to the character of either cowboys or the bad men of the range.
1972 G. Chapman et al. Monty Python's Flying Circus (1989) II. xxvii. 50 Well I mean a lot of these things that are happening, well they just don't quite ring true.
1989 W. D. Irvine Boulanger Affair Reconsidered i. 30 Republican rhetoric about liberty rang hollow to conservatives.
2006 J. Hart King of Lies (2007) xxxv. 360 They all said the same things, and they all rang false with me.
2.
a. transitive. To cause to give out a clear metallic or resonant sound; to make resound.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > ringing sound > ring [verb (transitive)]
ringeOE
outring?1625
gong1903
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > ringing sound > ring [verb (transitive)] > cause to ring
ringeOE
tang1556
eOE Metrical Dialogue of Solomon & Saturn (Corpus Cambr. 422) ii. 267 Se fugel..ligeð lonnum fæst, locað unhiere, swiðe swingeð and his searo hringeð, gilleð geomorlice and his gyrn sefað.
c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1573 The statue of Mars bigan his hauberk rynge.
tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) xii. 606 (MED) O kyngis Kyng..Louyng record and rynge her stryngis chaste To thyn honour.
a1450 Castle Perseverance (1969) l. 3094 Wyth rappys I þe rynge.
a1500 (?a1425) Ipomedon (Harl.) (1889) l. 788 (MED) He..blew a grete horne also; He blew lowde..That it ronge all þe castelle.
1573 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xxxix. 2 Mak ȝow for the gait, To ring ȝour drummis & rank ȝour men of weir.
1604 in S. Ree Rec. Elgin (1908) II. 120 Jonnet Smyth confessit the ringing of a pan with the knewill of a hairie raip..scho hard another bevest hir ringand a girdell.
1663 in W. Cramond Church of Alves (1900) 44 Andrew Angouse confessed he rang the bridle..interrogated what were the words he spake at the ringing of it [etc.].
a1856 S. W. Waddams Sexual Slander in 19th-cent. Eng. (2000) iii. ix. 137 [She] is a very troublesome woman and has annoyed the party agent very much by ringing pans at her and other acts of annoyance.
1860 G. J. Whyte-Melville Holmby House I. xviii. 243 The sorrel..snorted and shook his head, ringing his bridle playfully in the clear frosty air.
2000 A. M. Esolen tr. T. Tasso Jerusalem Delivered vii. 151 Again he turned, that proud Egyptian knight, But past his right side Raymond once more sped And rang his helmet.
2006 B. Krisher in G. T. King Autumn Remembered (rev. ed.) 64 I'd tell him I wouldn't ring his helmet if he wouldn't cut block me at the knees.
b. transitive. To test the resonance of (a coin or other object), and thus demonstrate its genuine quality, by causing it to give a clear, sonorous sound.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > trial or experiment > trial, test, or testing > try or test [verb (transitive)] > test by other specific methods
riddle?c1225
ring1777
candle1879
fatigue test1905
pressure-test1933
society > trade and finance > money > coining > coin (money) [verb (transitive)] > test coin > with a sound
ring1796
a1719 J. Addison Dialogues Medals in Wks. (1721) I. iii. 527 The Touch..gives almost as good evidence as the Sight, and the Ringing of a Medal is..a very common experiment.
1777 J. Brand Observ. Pop. Antiq. 12 Housewives..try the Soundness of their Earthen or China Vases by ringing them with a finger.
1796 S. Pegge Anonymiana (1809) 266 Ringing, or sounding, money, to try if it be good, is not modern.
1851 J. Ruskin Stones of Venice I. i. 32 Debating about the genuineness of a coin without ringing it.
1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 94 Not caring to ring copper half-pennies Upon the counter.
1986 T. Mo Insular Possession iii. 12 Shroffs test silver by ringing the coins on the paving-stones.
3.
a. intransitive. Esp. of a place: to be filled with a loud or resonant sound or noise; to resound, re-echo. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > resound [verb (intransitive)] > of places
ringa1350
sounda1400
resoundc1405
roarc1405
redounda1492
shout1513
braya1616
resonate1864
a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 43 (MED) Þis foules singeþ ferly fele..þat al þe wode ryngeþ.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 15040 (MED) All þai sang als wit a muth þat all þe cite rang [Fairf. range].
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 5157 (MED) Scho gaffe skirmand skrikis at all þe skowis range.
1508 W. Dunbar Goldyn Targe (Chepman & Myllar) in Poems (1998) I. 184 The skyes rang for schoutyng of the larkis.
?c1600 (c1515) Sc. Field (Lyme) 380 in I. F. Baird Poems Stanley Family (D.Phil. thesis, Univ. of Birm.) (1990) 246 There was dealling of dents, that all the dales ronge.
1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge v. iv. sig. K Sing alowd, make heauens vault to ring.
a1627 J. Beaumont Bosworth-field (1629) 9 Some with loud shouting, make the valleyes ring, But most with murmur sigh: God saue the King.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 495 Bleating herds Attest thir joy, that hill and valley rings . View more context for this quotation
1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 1449 I heard all as I came, the City rings And numbers thither flock. View more context for this quotation
1735 W. Somervile Chace ii. 157 The Welkin rings, Men, Dogs, Hills, Rocks, and Woods, In the full Consort join.
1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 147 No powder'd pert..assaults these doors Till the street rings.
1805 W. Scott Lay of Last Minstrel ii. iii. 37 The arched cloisters..Rang to the warrior's clanking stride.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam xxiii. 40 Round us all the thicket rang To many a flute of Arcady. View more context for this quotation
1884 A. De Vere Poet. Wks. IV. 16 Straightway round him myriads sang Again that anthem, and again, Till all the hollow valley rang, ‘Glory to God, and peace to men.’
1946 J. Masefield Poems 727 At her word they sang Bird, beast and spirit till the forest rang.
1978 P. Matthiessen Snow Leopard ii. 75 The sun ignites Churen Himal..and Putha Hiunchuli... The air is ringing.
b. intransitive. With with, or of, or to a sound. Also figurative (see also sense 3c).
ΚΠ
a1425 (?c1350) Ywain & Gawain (1964) 1397 (MED) Þe castel and þe cete rang With mynstralsi and nobil sang.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 663 They hurled togydirs and brake their spearys..that all the castell range of their dyntys.
a1500 (?a1410) J. Lydgate Churl & Bird (Lansd.) l.75 in Minor Poems (1934) ii. 471 (MED) It was a verray heuenly melodie..Of vncouth warblis & tewnes drawe along, That al the gardeyn of the noise rong.
1582 A. Golding tr. Ioyful & Royal Entertainment sig. Bv In ye mean whyle ye trumpets & drums sounded with such noyse, ye the ayre rang of it.
1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. Contin. 1331/1 They of Flushing shot two peales, with so great noise..that all the ground rang of it.
1589 R. Hakluyt tr. C. Adams in Princ. Navigations ii. 282 The skie rang againe with the noyse thereof.
1608 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iv. 139 The eager Dogs are cheer'd with claps and cries,..And all the Earth rings with the Terryers yearning.
1673 R. Leigh Transproser Rehears'd 36 All the Rooms rung with nothing but a continued Noise.
1700 M. Prior Carmen Sæculare 9 With the glad Noise the Cliffs and Valleys ring.
a1764 R. Lloyd Poet. Wks. (1774) II. 218 Ev'ry hill with heavenly musick rings.
1829 E. Bulwer-Lytton Devereux I. i. iii. 30 I scarcely listened to the applauses with which it [sc. the hall] rang.
1838 J. Banim & M. Banim Bit o' Writin' II. 81 ‘By the cross o' blood on this stone,’ he repeated, slapping his palm against it so smartly that the little solitude rang to the sound he produced by the action.
1894 A. Allardyce Earlscourt III. xxxix. 122 Which of the two, he asked himself with a hollow laugh that rang of despair, was to get the better of the other?
1912 Z. Grey Riders of Purple Sage xviii. 265 ‘Bern! You're back! You're back!’ she cried, in a joy that rang of her loneliness.
1972 S. Sutcliffe Martello Towers (1973) ii. 29 Meanwhile, the shipyards of the Channel ports and those of the canals of the Low Countries rang to the sound of hammers.
1999 S. Erikson Gardens of Moon vii. 164 Such mysterious ports as Filman Orras, Fort By a Half, Dead Man's Story and Exile; names that rang of adventure in the ears of a lad who had never seen his home city from outside its walls.
2001 J. Smith Holiday Walks in Normandy xxiii. 150 Once upon a time, the Durdent valley rang with the sound of water-mills.
c. intransitive. figurative. With †of or with: to be filled with talk or report about.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > have reputation [verb (intransitive)] > be much talked about > resound with reports
ring1566
1566 J. Rastell Third Bk. beware of M. Iewel f. 23 All England shal ring of it, That the Papistes will not be tried by the liuely worde of God.
1588 T. Hughes Misfortunes of Arthur in Certaine Deuises & Shewes iii. 26 To day all Europe rings of Arthurs praise.
1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 102 Neuer so much as mentioning them: whereof..so many Authours..doe so much ring.
1651 N. Bacon Contin. Hist. Disc. Govt. 55 The Parliament rings herewith, yet the King delayes the remedy.
1675 R. Baxter Catholick Theol. ii. i. 283 The City ringeth of you as one that greatly wrongeth the cause of God.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 117. ¶4 She..has made the Country ring with several imaginary Exploits which are palmed upon her.
1728 J. Morgan Compl. Hist. Algiers I. ii. 227 All Europe began to ring of his Depredations.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones I. ii. v. 106 The Country..rung of the Schoolmaster of Little Baddington; who was said to have beaten his Wife. View more context for this quotation
1803 W. Wordsworth Sonn. to Liberty xxii. 5 The great events with which old story rings Seem vain and hollow.
1864 Ld. Tennyson Aylmer's Field in Enoch Arden, etc. 71 Back would he to his studies, make a name..: the world should ring of him.
1894 R. D. Blackmore Perlycross I. x. 138 The story with which all the parish was ringing.
1919 Times 7 June 10/3 A blind Breton sailor, Antoine..arrives from Paris, which, according to him, is ringing with praises of his poems.
1959 G. Mattingly Armada iii. 35 London rang with the news and the corridors of Greenwich buzzed with it before Elizabeth returned to her palace.
1986 M. O. Macgoye Coming to Birth vi. 114 The newspapers rang with it, the books sold in hundreds.
†d. transitive. With that-clause. Obsolete. rare.
ΚΠ
1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 44 The publique Synods rang that the Prelates loved not Princes.
4.
a. transitive. To utter sonorously; to proclaim aloud. Also figurative and with out.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > resound [verb (transitive)]
ringa1400
resound1579
peal1611
the mind > language > speech > manner of speaking > say in a particular manner [verb (transitive)] > utter loudly or angrily
yeiea1225
call?c1250
soundc1374
ringa1400
upcasta1400
barkc1440
resound?c1525
blustera1535
brawl1563
thunder1592
out-thunder?1611
peal1611
tonitruate1623
intonatea1631
mouth1700
rip1828
boom1837
explode1839
clamour1856
blare1859
foghorn1886
megaphone1901
gruff1925
loudmouth1931
woof1934
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 21306 Ilkan o þaim [sc. the Evangelists] þair lar þai lere, And ringes [Gött. And renges, Trin. Cambr. Oon ringeþ] to þe werld at here, Dinnes þe toþer, trumpes þe thrid.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Pardoner's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 3 Whan I perche [sic], I peyne me to han an hauteyn speche And rynge [v.r. I ryng] it out as round as gooth a belle.
c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame (Fairf. 16) (1878) l. 1655 Allas thus was her shame y-ronge..on euery tonge.
a1500 Lancelot of Laik (1870) l. 328 Ye fresch enditing of his laiting toung Out throuch yis world so wid is yroung.
1535 D. Lindsay Satyre 74 Till all our rymis be rung, And our mistoinit sangis be sung.
1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger 50 Godlie Serm. II. iii. v. sig. Ff.ivv/1 If hee ring out the name of the Lord and preach his law.
?1589 Whip for an Ape sig. A3 And Martins mate Iacke Strawe would alwaies ring The Clergies faults.
a1625 J. Fletcher Humorous Lieut. v. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Sss4 v/2 I would ring him such a lesson.
1689 T. Shadwell Bury-Fair i. i All England rings out your fame.
1727 D. Defoe Compl. Eng. Tradesman II. i. x. 241 Hark how he rings out his own Character.
1850 N. P. Willis People I have Met 57 Her purpose remained unaltered, and she rang out ‘no!’ the next morning, with a tone as little changed as a convent-bell.
1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise I. 539 All about the Lydian shouting rings Death to the beaten foemen.
1887 C. Bowen tr. Virgil Eclogues vi, in tr. Virgil in Eng. Verse 41 The mariner men Shouted for Hylas, and every shore rang Hylas again.
1922 Z. Grey To Last Man xiv. 308 ‘Y'u will spare Jean Isbel!’ she rang out. ‘Drop that gun—drop it!’
1947 W. Sorell tr. W. Herzog From Dreyfus to Petain x. 130 He would have liked to leave the glory to one of these representatives. But, he rang out, the most dreaded revolutionaries had failed.
2004 Y. Lotan tr. A. Balaban Mourning Father Lost i. 11 Mother calls her daughter home, the windows are ringing her name.
b. transitive. to ring (something) in a person's ears: to say forcibly or repeatedly to a person, to instil in a person. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > resound [verb (transitive)] > cause
to ring (something) in a person's ears1542
retent1608
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes i. f. 146 The same verse might euen I myself also ryng in the eares of such persones.
1600 N. Breton Strange Fortunes Two Excellent Princes 42 In the time of Rantifoes being in our Courte, thou couldest neuer cease to ring in mine eares some cause of dislike in him.
1657 J. Trapp Comm. Ezra viii. 29 This lesson had need to be often rung in our ears.
1665 S. Patrick Parable of Pilgrim xix. 190 The people rang this continually in their ears.
1709 J. Swift Let. conc. Sacramental Test 23 Persecution was every Day rung in our Ears.
1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World vii. 231 I took all opportunities of ringing in their ears, such instances of the Spaniards cruelty.
1793 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse (ed. 2) §246 I found it eternally rung in my ears from all quarters.
1869 Deb. of Conscience with Distiller, Wholesale Dealer, & Retailer ii. in S. T. Hammond Coll. Temperance Dialogues 62 You are always harping upon my being a professor of religion, and bringing up some text of Scripture, which might as well be let alone, and which you would not ring in my ears, if you had any regard to my peace, or even your own.
1887 T. F. Gantt Breaking Chains xiii, in M. C. Grimes Knights in Fiction (1986) 113 Until ‘the injury of one is the concern of all’ was rung in her ears by the Knights of Labor, her ambition had all been centered in self.
1907 A. MacLaren Expos. Holy Script. St. John Chapters IX to XIV (xiv. 4–7) 282 Plainly enough it had been rung in their ears over and over again.
1921 W. R. Hadwen First Impressions Amer. xiv. 225 I then understood as I could have understood in no other way, what was meant when on every hand was rung in my ears, ‘You must see the Grand Canyon!’
5.
a. intransitive. To sound loudly or resonantly; to resound, re-echo. Also with out and figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > resound [verb (intransitive)] > of sound
ringc1400
resounda1547
yell1606
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) 2204 (MED) Þene herde he of þat hyȝe hil, in a harde roche..a wonder breme noyse..hit rusched & ronge, rawþe to here.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iv. 3462 (MED) Þe slauȝter was so hidous & so strong, Þat þoruȝ þe feld þe woful noyse rong.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 30 Than they fought togiders, that the noyse and the sowne range by the watir and woode.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid xiii. viii. 79 Joyus vocis ryngis furth..Our all the palys ryall to and fro.
a1535 Frere & Boy (Ritson) 162 It range ouer all the place.
1575 J. Rolland Treat. Court Venus i. f. 1 Quhen Eolus out ouir thir rokkis rang, Be donk and daill, baith herb & tre he dang.
1645 J. Milton On Christ's Nativity: Hymn xvii, in Poems 8 With such a horrid clang As on mount Sinai rang While the red fire..out brake.
1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 18 A good disposition to religion.., and such an one as rang loud to Rome.
a1674 J. Milton To Fairfax in Lett. State (1694) p. xlvi Fairfax, whose name in armes through Europe rings.
1676 J. Dryden Aureng-Zebe iii. 43 Through my dark Cell your shouts of Triumph rung.
1692 J. Dryden Cleomenes i. i. 8 A peal of loud applause rang out.
1757 T. Gray Ode II ii. i, in Odes 16 Shrieks of death, thro' Berkley's roofs that ring.
1786 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 223 Greenwood Echos rang Amang the braes o' Ballochmyle.
1808 W. Scott Autobiogr. in J. G. Lockhart Mem. Life Scott (1837) I. i. 3 That ancient chieftain, whose name I have made to ring in many a ditty.
1850 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis II. xxxix. 379 Strong's laughter..came ringing out of window.
1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People v. §1. 214 The music of the lark and the nightingale rang out from field and thicket.
1906 J. Conrad Gaspar Ruiz in Pall Mall Mag. Oct. 500/1 A silence fell, in which the popping shots of the besieged garrison rang out sharply.
1929 P. G. Wodehouse Mr. Mulliner Speaking ix. 314 A cocktail that would ring down the ages, in which gin blended smoothly with Italian Vermouth.
1943 M. Millar Wall of Eyes iv. 43 She rapped on Kelsey's door and Kelsey's voice rang out sharply.
1978 Ebony Jr! Jan. 21/1 Papa's hammer rang out pounding the steel into horseshoes.
2003 D. S. Johnson Arizona Herstory 211 As they cautiously drew near, Three quick shots rang loud and clear.
b. intransitive. to ring in (or †about) a person's ears: to be heard persistently by a person; to remain vividly in a person's auditory memory. Hence also to ring in a person's heart and similar phrases.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > memory > retention in the mind > remain in the mind [verb (intransitive)]
steekc1425
to ring in (or about) a person's ears1541
remaina1616
run1627
to stay with1942
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > thing heard > make sound [verb (intransitive)] > linger in one's hearing
to ring in (or about) a person's ears1541
1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance Pref. sig. aiii Hauinge also rynging alway in myn eare, the terrible checke that the good maister in the gospell gaue to his ydel seruaunte.
1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet ii. ii. 74 Thy old grones yet ringing in mine auncient eares. View more context for this quotation
1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 121 The Sound seems still to Ring in my Ears.
1736 R. Ainsworth Thes. Linguæ Latinæ I. at Ring about These words ring continually about my ears.
1821 C. Lamb in London Mag. Dec. 605/2 That old Artaxerxes evening had never done ringing in my fancy.
1834 F. Marryat Jacob Faithful III. iii. 38 The two bars of music were constantly ringing in my ears.
1841 E. C. Grey Little Wife I. xviii. 208 Listening, hour after hour, to a voice, the music of whose sounds must ever ring in my memory.
1879 F. W. Farrar Life & Work St. Paul I. v. xvii. 305 The voice of God still rang in his heart.
1918 Aussie: Austral. Soldiers' Mag. Feb. 112/1 There's the ‘Jackies’ laugh and the ‘Coo-ee’ call. They echo and ring in the hearts of us all.
1938 R. G. Collingwood Princ. Art ii. xi. 237 By further acts of attention I can recover sounds which still ring in my memory, though I should describe myself as not actually hearing them at the moment.
1948 M. Desai tr. M. K. Gandhi Autobiogr. xx. 90 The verses in the second chapter..made a deep impression on my mind, and they still ring in my ears.
1963 W. S. Pakenham-Walsh Tudor Story ii. 8 It [sc. a thought] rang in my head as I rode along the country lanes.
2005 J. M. Lindskold Child of Rainless Year v. 75 Rainless. The word rung in my ears as if spoken in my mother's voice.
6. intransitive. Of an electric circuit or a solid object: to undergo damped oscillation at its resonant frequency.See the note at ring n.2 5.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > types of motion > [verb (intransitive)] > resonate
resonate1845
ring1952
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > phenomena [verb (intransitive)] > oscillate > in specific way
self-oscillate1926
motor-boat1932
squeg1939
ring1952
1952 G. C. Smith in E. Molloy & W. F. Poole Television Engineers' Servicing Man. 12 The flyback ‘overshoots’ and ‘rings’, but it is frequently damped out by a capacitor and a resistance in series across the coils.
1975 Nature 24 Jan. 233/1 It has been widely accepted..that a [nuclear] test fired while the Earth was ringing from a really major earthquake..would be impossible to detect.
2000 F. A. Everest Master Handbk. Acoustics (ed. 4) v. 114 Apply a steep wavefront signal to an amplifier and it might ring a bit.
2007 M. L. McKinney et al. Environmental Sci. (ed. 4) v. 135/1 Seismic waves from the largest earthquakes..can reverberate inside the Earth and make the planet ‘ring’.
II. Senses connected with the sound of bells.
7.
a. transitive. To indicate (an hour, time, †event, etc.) by the sound of a bell or bells. †to ring noon on: to hit forcibly (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > signalling > audible signalling > ringing of bells as signal > ring (a bell) as signal [verb (transitive)] > announce or proclaim by
ringOE
smite1370
knell1840
to ting in1880
buzz1914
OE Rule St. Benet (Corpus Cambr.) xlvii. 72 Sy þæs abbodes gymen, þæt mon ealle tida þæs godcundan þeowdomes on rihte timan..hrincge [a1225 Winteney hrinȝe].
lOE Permission to ring Bells, Exeter in J. Earle Hand-bk. Land-charters (1888) 260 Þat yc..gef leaua ðam munche on Sancte Nicholaus minstre to hringinde hyre tyde be dage & be nihte.
a1350 (?c1225) King Horn (Harl.) (1901) l. 1025 (MED) Matynes were yronge & þe masse ysonge.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 413 (MED) Samnianus..ordeynede þat þe houres of the day schulde be ronge [L. horæ diei..pulsarentur] at chirches.
a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) 928 (MED) Ouþer men seyd þey shuld nat werche Lengyr þan þey rong none at þe chyrche.
1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes i, in Wks. 134/2 Thys blind man at saint albonis shrine had his sight agayne, and a myracle solemply rongen.
c1542 in Archaeologia (1887) 50 49 Also he shall Rynge curfie whan it ys rounge wt one bell and call for help whan it ys rounge wt moo.
1576 W. Lambarde Perambulation of Kent 150 Our Lady of Court of Strete, had receiued her from the verie point of death: and..her pleasure was, that it shoulde be rong for a miracle.
a1637 B. Jonson Tale of Tub ii. ii. 24 in Wks. (1640) III Till this Ash-plant Had rung noone o' your pate. View more context for this quotation
1645 J. Milton L'Allegro in Poems 35 Ere the first Cock his Mattin rings.
1673 in J. A. Picton City of Liverpool: Select. Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 342 Ring Curphew all the yeare long at 4 a clock in the morning and eight at a night.
1704 in J. A. Picton City of Liverpool: Select. Munic. Rec. (1886) II. 83 Ringing Curfew Bell at four of ye clock in ye morning, and eight at night.
1799 N. Webster Sentimental & Humorous Ess. xiv. 35 The bell rings nine o'clock; but one more hand can do no harm.
1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe II. xx. 375 My quarter-staff should ring noon on the steel cap of yonder fierce Templar, ere he carried the matter off thus.
1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xxxvi. 459 The city bells were just ringing one.
1867 Atlantic Monthly Aug. 213/2 The bells of St. Mary's rang midnight as I lighted my bedroom candle.
1927 Pop. Sci. Monthly Sept. 65/3 The race ended today when the alarm clock rang eight and the grandfather's struck seven.
1971 W. Stegner Angle of Repose (1972) i. i. 25 And there, like a bell tardily ringing the hour, is her key in the lock downstairs.
2005 E. J. Whitehouse Circles in Sand 296 With expats from all over the world, the clock rang midnight over and over again.
b. transitive. to ring out: to indicate or announce loudly and clearly.
ΚΠ
1843 T. S. Arthur Six Nights with Washingtonians ii. 42 I was standing at the corner of Howard and Lexington streets, irresolute as to which way I should go, when the town clock rang out the hour of two.
1875–6 R. L. Stevenson Forest Notes in Ess. Trav. (1905) 152 Suddenly the bell rings out the hour from far-away Chailly.
1906 O. F. Adams Sicut Patribus 28 When I went up the minster tower, The minster clock rang out the hour.
1975 Cincinnati Mag. Oct. 12/3 Far and near, east, west, north, south, the city's bells rang out the tidings.
1998 S. Douglass Pilgrim lxv. 557 The bells rang out the hours, the workday, the holidays, the watches, the curfew , and—unknown to most of the aristocracy of the city—they also rang out coded messages.
8.
a. transitive. To make (a bell or bells) sound, usually from a church belfry or within a building in order to summon a person.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > ringing sound > ring [verb (transitive)] > cause to ring > as summons
ringOE
OE Monasteriales Indicia (1996) vii. 22 Gyf þu wæt be cyrcean tæcan wille, þonne do þu mid þinum twan handum, swylce þu bellan ringe, and sete þinne scytefinger to þinum muþe, and hine syððan up rær.
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1131 Þa muneces..sungen Te Deum Laudamus, ringden þa belle, setten him on þes abbotes settle.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 933 He falleþþ..I godess wraþþe..Ȝiff þatt he wære reckelæs. To ringenn hise belless.
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 390 (MED) Ich wille þat þo[u] suere On auter and..On þe belles þat men ringes.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 11215 (MED) At seinte marie churche a clerc þe commun belle rong.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xx. 58 (MED) Religiouse reuerenced hym and rongen [v.r. rong] here belles.
a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 3810 And þe sextens rong þo þe belle.
1483 W. Caxton in tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 214/2 The bellys sowned and wer ronge wythout mannes honde.
a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (Harl. 7333) (1879) 17 (MED) If any man Runge þe belle and hadde no cause, he shuld be ded.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cxxxv They ran in to euery churche, and there range all the belles at ones.
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary i. 193 The greatest bell called Marie, requires twentie foure men to ring it.
1691 A. Gavin Frauds Romish Monks (ed. 3) 127 He having rang his Bell, all the Company shut up their Glasses and Bottles.
1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. III. 26 In violent tempests..they ring two little bells which are hung in the tower.
1788 C. Smith Emmeline I. xvi. 281 The servant..told him that Miss Mowbray had not yet rung her bell.
1811 M. R. Mitford Let. 2 Apr. in A. G. L'Estrange Life M. R. Mitford (1870) I. v. 127 No bells were rung in the castle for a month.
1828 H. S. Boyd in E. H. Barker Parr I. 338 I have often stood in the belfry at Margate when the bells were being rung.
1856 C. Dickens Little Dorrit (1857) i. x. 81 ‘I must refer you,’ returned Mr. Barnacle, ringing the bell, ‘to the Department.’
1914 L. Woolf Wise Virgins ii. 31 They [sc. servants] won't stay because you ring the bell for them while they're at dinner!
1943 M. Millar Wall of Eyes i. 5 She rang the bell and opened the door with the brisk precise movements of one who feels she is being watched from behind curtains and wants to impress the watcher.
1963 S. C. Powell Puritan Village (1970) ii. 30 They paid a fee to the man who rang the school bell for the few young Berkhamsted ‘scholars’.
2005 S. Burakoff Search for Identity vii. 22 Kim rang the doorbell quite a few times before anyone answered.
b. transitive. figurative. See also Phrases 1b, Phrases 1a(b), Phrases 1c.
ΚΠ
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) ii. 1728 (MED) Perse after his false tunge Hath so thenvious belle runge, That he hath slain his oghne brother.
a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 5266 Fooles can not holde her tunge A fooles belle is soone runge.
a1450 Partonope of Blois (Univ. Coll. Oxf.) (1912) l. 8516 (MED) Vrak in no wyse myght for-bere Her sustres sothes..to telle, She thought She wold rynge her bell.
a1500 (a1450) Partonope of Blois (BL Add.) (1912) l. 6139 (MED) When..þes wemmen had wel I-ronge Here belle, wyche was heuy to here [a1500 Rawl. bere], Thys lady had boþe shame and fere.
1559 D. Lindsay Test. Papyngo l. 11 in Wks. (1931) I For quhy the bell of Rethorick bene roung Be Chawceir [etc.].
1635 F. Quarles Emblemes iv. iii. 193 When ere the Old Exchange of Profit rings Her silver Saints-bell of uncertaine gaines.
1729 Choice I. xx. 23 Ring, ring the Bar-bell of the World, Great Bacchus calls for Wine.
1762 J. Wilkes North Briton (1763) II. No. 30. 65 This was the first wretch hired to ring the alarum bell of discord and sedition.
1799 C. Ludger tr. A. W. Iffland Lawyers iv. xii. 81 I will ring the bell of disgrace over him, so as to make the whole country resound.
1822 P. B. Shelley Hellas 33 And my solemn thunder knell Should ring to the world the passing bell Of tyranny.
1984 Times 6 Sept. 12/7 It is a party which rings the bell of every ‘liberal’ cliché.
2007 I. Muchnick Wrestling Babylon iii. 56 But it was the legislation's fine print that really rang the bell.
c. transitive. to ring out: to make (a bell or bells) sound loudly and clearly.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > playing instruments > bell-ringing > [verb (transitive)]
knellc961
ring?a1300
clipc1440
to ring outc1453
knoll1467
tolla1513
ting1552
jowa1572
tinglea1657
taratantar1840
clock1858
clapper1872
jowl1872
chime1880
c1453 (c1437) Brut (Harl. 53) 574 (MED) Sir Iohn Radcliff sent word..to þe Daywach of þe toune in þe nonetyme to rynge out the larom bell.
1578 T. Churchyard Disc. Queenes Entertainem. sig. Bivv Ring out the belles, plucke vp your sprightes, and dresse your houses gay, Runne in for floures to straw the streetes, and make what ioy you may.
1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 163 Secretly stirring vp the people, and by and by after ringing out the bels.
a1644 B. Twyne in A. Wood Life & Times (1891) I. 81 They in the towne..range out their great bell.
1696 C. Hopkins Neglected Virtue ii. 13 Ring out the Bells of Peace.
1720 J. Hughes Siege Damascus i. i. 2 Is the Town asleep? Ring out th' Alarum Bell!
1796 W. Scott Let. in J. G. Lockhart Mem. Life Sir W. Scott (1837) I. vii. 239 Upon the hoisting of a flag on the Tron-steeple, and ringing out all the large bells.
1813 W. Scott Rokeby ii. xxv. 90 Ring out the Castle larum bell!
1862 E. L. Blanchard Harlequin & House that Jack Built iii. 18 Ring out the bells, and let the sports commence.
1946 ‘T. Baker’ in Catal. Copyright Entries (U.S. Copyright Office) 39 142/2 (title of song) Let's ring out the bells.
2007 M. Lackey & J. Mallory Phoenix Unchained 285 They waited a bell and a half—the Temple rang out the bells just as if they were back in Armethalieh.
d. transitive. to ring up: to raise (a bell) so that it rests with its open end upwards in readiness for ringing.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > playing instruments > bell-ringing > [verb (transitive)] > bring to position
set1671
sally1735
to ring up1855
1855 Rec. Bucks 159 If he were rung up like an ordinary metal bell.
1895 New Eng. Mag. Jan. 646/2 On that anniversary the great dumb bells, weary of their long-enforced silence, were rung up as they had not been for almost a century, and hung poised, waiting the signal of release.
1928 J. R. Nichols Bells thro' Ages viii. 149 The bell..is then ‘set’ or ‘rung up’, and is retained in this position by means of the ‘stay’ and ‘slider’.
1968 J. Camp Discovering Bells & Bellringing 35 Before ringing can start, the bells have to be ‘rung up’ so that each is set ready mouth upwards.
9. Of a bell or device with similar functions.
a. intransitive. Originally: (of a bell sounded by a hammer or clapper) to give out a clear metallic note. Subsequently also: (of an electric bell or analogous device) to give out a loud vibrating, buzzing, or similar sound. Also figurative.In quot. c1405, † to ring of: to complain about (obsolete rare).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > sound of instruments > sound [verb (intransitive)] > bells
ringc1175
knella1375
clinkc1386
clapc1440
jangle1494
toll1551
knoll1582
chime1583
troll1607
tintinnate1623
swing1645
ding-dong1659
strike1677
jow1786
clam?a1800
to ring in1818
dinglea1839
to strike offa1843
dingle dongle1858
jowl1872
tankle1894
tintinnabulate1906
tong1907
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 901 Godd..wollde himm sellf. Þa belless herenn ringenn Whann se þe preost wass shridd tær wiþþ To gan till godess allterr.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12219 Bemen þer bleowen; bellen þer ringeden [c1300 Otho rongen].
c1330 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Auch.) 2250 (MED) So stod Beues in þat þring Til noun belle be-gan to ring.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 20699 (MED) Dos þe belles all at ring [Trin. Cambr. to ringe].
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Reeve's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 42 The sely tonge may wel rynge and chymbe Of wrecchednesse þt passed is ful yoore.
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 40 (MED) All þe bellis in þe place rang be þer one.
a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 150 (MED) Yn processyon bellys ryngyþe, baners ben borne befor, þe crosse comyþ aftyr, and all þe pepull suyth.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 691/2 I holde the a penye I tell the where this bell ryngeth.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. cvi In the castle the alarme rang, but the embushement kept theim stil close.
1567 R. Sempill in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. 35 Than sall I wryte in prettie poetrie..Quhilk throw all Europe sall ring lyke ane bell.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) iv. ii. 73 Duke. Who call'd heere of late? Pro. None since the Curphew rung . View more context for this quotation
1712 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. c8 Mar. (1965) I. 119 The post bell rings; my next shall be longer.
1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. xlix. 108 The alarum-bell rung to arms in every quarter of the city.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas I. i. ii. 18 When I had been pestered with all the tittle-tattle of the town..the changes were just beginning to ring on some new subject.
1864 G. Meredith Emilia in Eng. II. xxxiii. 218 Mr. Pole's bedroom-bell rang.
1881 Californian July 49/2 They must have bewitched the wedding-bells, which afterward rang so joyously!
1910 H. V. Esmond Her Vote I. i. (stage direct.) The Clerk sighs and again resumes his labours. The office bell rings, and he rises and goes out.
1954 E. Taylor Hester Lilly 4 The drowsy afternoon quiet was broken abruptly by a bell ringing, and at once voices were raised all over the building and doors were slammed.
1975 Black Belt July 66/2 The boxer rolled out of the ring and the bell rang ending the second round.
2006 C. O. Flannery Best Laid Plans xii. 157 The doorbell rang. Please, don't let it be anyone else, she prayed as she walked to the front of the house.
b. intransitive. To sound so as to convey a summons to a religious service, prayers, church, etc. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > church-going > attend (church) [verb (transitive)] > summon or dismiss by a bell > of bell: summon
ring1485
toll1611
1485 Malory's Morte Darthur (Caxton) xxi. x. sig. eeiii He herde a lytel belle rynge to masse.
1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1845) xlii. 207 For though the day be never so longe, At last the belles ringeth to evensonge.
a1593 C. Marlowe Massacre at Paris (c1600) sig. B4 That bel that to ye deuils mattins rings.
1621 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1848) (modernized text) II. 264 The bell is now ringing to a congregation; and they say it is to send letters gratulatory from the university.
1667 A. Bailey Spightful Sister iii. i. 24 When the Bell rings to a rigid meeting, Repent my earthly thoughts, and punish them With hard mortifications.
1719–20 J. Swift Let. to Young Gentleman (1721) 17 It was but just finished when the last Bell rung to Church.
1789 tr. P. J.-B. Legrand d'Aussy Norman Tales 256 Just at that moment the parish bell was ringing to prayers.
1828 K. H. Digby Broad Stone of Honour: Tancredus xv. 292 She remained till midnight, when the bell ringing to matins at the church of the Franciscan friars, she went thither.
1850 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis II. xi. 104 The bells of the multitudinous city churches were ringing to evening prayers.
1901 J. R. Rodd Story of Sir Francis Drake ii, in Ballads of Fleet & Other Poems 29 So they moored in the outer harbour, while the ships' bells rang to prayer.
1959 C. Garvin tr. E. Auerbach Scenes Drama European Lit. 86 The simile of the carol of the blessed spirits as a peal of bells ringing to matins, at the end of Canto 10.
c. intransitive. to ring out: to give out a loud and clear metallic note.
ΚΠ
1584 J. Hooker Offices & Duties Sworne Officer Excester Ep. Ded. sig. a.ij Let all the great belles of S. Peters ring out neuer so lowd, there will not be halfe so manie gained into the Church.
1676 A. Wood Life & Times (1892) II. 360 The great bell rung out for Earle of C. C. Coll., fellow.
1734 J. Swift On his Deafness in Gentleman's Mag. Nov. 623 No more I hear my church's bell, Than if it rang out for my knell.
1809 S. T. Coleridge Three Graves in Friend (1812) 91 And when the merry Bells rang out, They seem'd to stop her Breath.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam civ. 162 Ring out wild bells to the wild sky. View more context for this quotation
1900 C. H. Wetmore Sweepers of Sea xvii. 234 At 9 o'clock that morning, when the sweet chimes of the monastery bells rang out as they had on the evening before, [etc.].
1945 R. Cranston Story Woodrow Wilson p. xv The bells rang out, the cannon boomed, a great shout went up.
1983 W. Gleason Worst High School Play in World ii. 82 Joyous bells ring out as the happy crowd showers the couple with cornflakes.
2006 H. Smith Georgian Monarchy 146 Bells rang out to celebrate the Georgian monarchy from Wiltshire to Kent, from Nottinghamshire to Cumberland.
d. intransitive. Scottish. to ring in: to sound to indicate that a church service is about to start, especially by using a shorter interval between strokes before falling silent. See quot. 1825 and cf. sense 11c. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > sound of instruments > sound [verb (intransitive)] > bells
ringc1175
knella1375
clinkc1386
clapc1440
jangle1494
toll1551
knoll1582
chime1583
troll1607
tintinnate1623
swing1645
ding-dong1659
strike1677
jow1786
clam?a1800
to ring in1818
dinglea1839
to strike offa1843
dingle dongle1858
jowl1872
tankle1894
tintinnabulate1906
tong1907
1818 W. Scott Heart of Midlothian IV. viii. 177 The bell only changed to the final and impatient chime when they crossed the stile; and ‘rang in’, that is, concluded its mistuned summons, when they had entered the Duke's seat in the little kirk.
1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. To Ring in, bells are said to be ringing in, when in order to stop them the repetition of the strokes becomes quicker than before.
1887 R. L. Stevenson Underwoods 94 But noo the bell is ringin, in; To tak their places, folk begin.
1913 W. R. Melvin Caller Herrin' 23 The Church bell has rung in, and the service has commenced.
e. intransitive. To produce a series of resonant or vibrating sounds, or now also a distinctive tune or tone, to signal an incoming telephone call.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > communicate by telephone [verb (intransitive)] > ring (of telephone bell)
ring1885
warble1965
1885 List of Subscribers Exchange Syst. (United Telephone Co.) (ed. 6) p. iii When your bell rings..take the Telephone off the hook... Unless the telephone is on the hook, the Subscriber cannot call or be called by the Exchange.
1893 McClure's Mag. 1 394/2 There were even days when the Joneses questioned whether they were not running a public telephone, so often did the bell ring.
1907 E. Wharton Let. 7 Jan. (1988) 111 We have a daily paper to keep us in touch with land, but the crowning charm is the presence, at my bedside, of a telephone that never rings!!!
1922 G. B. Stern Room i. v. 57 Down in the sitting-room, the telephone-bell rang.
1951 M. Kennedy Lucy Carmichael i. iv. 27 The telephone rang at intervals all the evening.
1979 T. Wiseman Game of Secrets iv. 48 He spent an hour getting himself reconnected, and after that he waited for the telephone to ring.
2006 C. Chan Village Affairs 219 He was making small talk with the secretary when his mobile rang, and he excused himself to answer it.
10.
a. transitive. To produce or sound (a peal, knell, changes, etc.) on a bell or bells; to perform on a bell or bells. Also with out. Also in figurative contexts (see also branch III.).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > playing instruments > bell-ringing > [verb (transitive)]
knellc961
ring?a1300
clipc1440
to ring outc1453
knoll1467
tolla1513
ting1552
jowa1572
tinglea1657
taratantar1840
clock1858
clapper1872
jowl1872
chime1880
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > playing instruments > bell-ringing > [verb (transitive)] > sound forth on bells
ring?a1300
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > playing instruments > bell-ringing > [verb (transitive)] > accompany by ringing
ring1826
?a1300 Fox & Wolf 251 in G. H. McKnight Middle Eng. Humorous Tales (1913) 35 (MED) Þi soule-cnul ich wille do ringe, And masse for þine soule singe.
c1390 (?c1350) St. Augustine l. 1642 in C. Horstmann Sammlung Altengl. Legenden (1878) 89 (MED) Vppon his euen to euensong Men rongen þo þreo peles long.
c1425 Bk. Found. St. Bartholomew's (1923) 37 (MED) The chanons..began to synge Te deum laudamus, And the peyll of bell was roonge.
c1466 in Archaeologia (1887) 50 49 To helpe the sexton to Rynge the secounde pele to matens.
a1500 ( Vision E. Leversedge in Notes & Queries Somerset & Dorset (1905) 9 23 (MED) My spyrit was raveschyd and departyd fro my body and also my knyll rongon for my saule.
1547 J. Harrison Exhort. Scottes a iiij b If these..should fele but half the miserie,..thei would not be halfe so hastie to ryng alarmes.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 405 Sea-Nimphs hourly ring his knell. View more context for this quotation
a1640 J. Fletcher et al. Beggers Bush iii. iii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. L13v Rouse ye the lofty Stag, and with my bell-horne, Ring him a knell.
1668 Tintinnalogia (1671) 124 One or more of those persons who do Ring this Peal, may be weary before they have Rang Eighteen-score changes.
1684 R. Howlett School Recreat. 93 Another Way of Ringing Twenty Four Changes, Doubles and Singles on Four Bells.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 95 The Breath Of brazen Trumpets rung the Peals of Death. View more context for this quotation
1712 J. Arbuthnot John Bull in his Senses iv. 22 A parcel of roaring Bulleys..Ringing the Changes on Butchers Cleavers.
1768 B. Thornton Battle of Wigs i. 6 Ring A peal of triumph,—Ding dong, ding dong, ding.
1787 European Mag. 12 434 The bells of the churches rung their dead peals during the day.
1796 Monthly Mag. May 296/1 The combination of sounds, which may be produced by ringing the changes on six bells, are, I believe, 720.
a1822 P. B. Shelley Lines: When Lamp is Shattered in Posthumous Poems (1824) ii. 8 The mournful surges That ring the dead seaman's knell.
1826 C. Lamb in New Monthly Mag. 16 29 Ringing a round of the most ingenious conceits, every man contributing his shot.
1847 A. Gatty Bell iv. 62 The following numbers are placed to show how three bells can ring six changes.
1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola II. i. 2 The great bell in the..tower had rung out the hammer-sound of alarm.
1914 H. G. Wells World set Free iv. 230 The cathedral bells..were beginning, with a sort of rheumatic difficulty, to ring... They were ringing a peal.
1965 W. G. Wilson Change Ringing iv. 13 The basic principle involved in ringing changes on bells, or in working them out on paper, is called the plain hunt.
1983 V. E. Neuburg Pop. Press Compan. to Pop. Lit. 81/1 As he sat on Highgate Hill he was inspired by hearing Bow bells ring out a peal which seemed to say: Turn again Whittington, Lord Mayor of London.
2007 S. Hazard Long Branch in Golden Age 59 The village was awakened from its night's sleep by the dreary tolling of church bells ringing out the knell of death.
b. transitive. to ring one's way: to proceed while ringing a bell or bells.
ΚΠ
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 2nd Ser. 20 The muffin-boy rings his way down the little street, much more slowly than he is wont to do.
1919 A. Woods Policeman & Public (1971) ii. 41 The chauffeur of the patrol wagon..cranks his engine, clangs his bell, rumbles out of the garage, rings his way up the street to the box where the officer and dazed prisoner are waiting.
2001 J. Authelet Foxborough vi. 110 For the next six hours—on the hour—he joyously rang his way into the history of World War II.
11.
†a. intransitive. To cause a bell or bells to sound as a summons to (divine service, church, etc.). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > church-going > attend (church) [verb (intransitive)] > sound bell > as summons
ringc1390
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > playing instruments > bell-ringing > [verb (intransitive)] > ring bell as summons
ringc1390
c1390 (c1350) in C. Horstmann Minor Poems Vernon MS (1892) i. 174 (MED) Þe Cristene Mon herde Rynge to Mas.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xviii. 425 Þe daye dawed..That men rongen [v.rr. range, rounge, ronge; C. rang] to þe resurexioun.
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) 4045 (MED) To rynge to matyns þai began.
c1466 in Archaeologia (1887) 50 51 Thei [sc. clerics] shal be redy to ryng to all maner of diuine seruice.
1519 in J. Raine Fabric Rolls York Minster (1859) 269 We thynke it were more convenient to ryng to matyns..at halfe oure to v.
1547 in T. North Bells & Bell Lore (1888) 81 Pd. to ij Ryngers wch rong to ye Sermon when the bisshop of lincoln was here.
1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies v. xxx. 427 To strike up a drumme every day at the Sunne setting, to the same end that we are accustomed to ring to evensong.
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 192 (margin) The way of Ringing to the Office in St. Sepulchres.
1718 C. Cibber Non-juror i. 12 Leave this Writing there, but bring me the Key, and then bid the Butler ring to Prayers.
b. intransitive. To cause a bell or bells to sound; spec. to summon or send for a person or required object by this means. Also in figurative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > playing instruments > bell-ringing > [verb (intransitive)]
ringc1400
tolla1513
society > authority > command > command or bidding > command or give orders [verb (intransitive)] > summon
summonc1460
whistle1560
call1590
whip1833
ring1847
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) 931 (MED) Claplaynez [read Chaplaynez]..Rungen ful rychely..To þe hersum euensong of þe hyȝe tyde.
c1400 Brut (Rawl. B. 171) 166 (MED) On þe morwe men ronge & songe masses þrouȝ-out London.
c1425 Myrour to Lewde Men & Wymmen (Harl.) (1981) 174 (MED) To him þat ryngeþ or clepith, hit schal be opened.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 691/2 I feare me some house be afyre in the nexte parysshe, for they rynge aukewarde.
c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme lxviii. 67 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 80 The battaile maides..did with Tymbrells ring.
1657 H. Crompton Poems 99 Thy words shall serve for Bels that are In rooms to ring for Wine.
1686 R. Plot Nat. Hist. Staffs. viii. 297 Some of his Servants going to ring in the old Steeple..had been in danger of their lives.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 115. ¶7 I exercise my self..upon a dumb Bell..; they never come into my Room to disturb me whilst I am ringing.
1750 S. Richardson Lett. Particular Friends (ed. 4) lxxvii. 109 She rung for the Maid, and bid her put on the Tea-kettle.
1782 F. Burney Cecilia V. ix. iv. 76 She expected every instant that he would ring for his chair.
1819 Metropolis (ed. 2) I. 57 I rung and had the dog removed.
1847 E. Brontë Wuthering Heights I. x. 202 Why not have up Mrs. Dean to finish her tale?.. I'll ring; she'll be delighted to find me capable of talking cheerfully.
1864 Ld. Tennyson Grandmother xv, in Enoch Arden, etc. 121 The ringers rang with a will.
1864 H. Cullwick Diary June in D. Hudson Munby (1972) 195 Me by myself in that kitchen..ready to do any thing for 'em whenever they rang for me.
1879 G. Meredith Egoist III. iv. 91 Sir Willoughby went to ring for her carriage.
1926 D. L. Sayers Clouds of Witness ii. 49 Ring for anything you want.
1980 N. Marsh Photo-finish vii. 188 Alleyn..put his thumb on the bell..and Marco came in... He said: ‘You rang, sir?’
2001 J. Payne North of Patagonia 62 He rang and rang until every last brother was awake and assembled in the common room.
†c. transitive. to ring all in: to sound the final strokes or peal of a bell or bells before the beginning of a church service. Also said of a bell, especially the Sanctus bell. Also to ring in. Also figurative. Cf. sense 9d. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > church-going > attend (church) [verb (intransitive)] > sound bell
to ring all ina1483
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > playing instruments > bell-ringing > [verb (intransitive)] > ring final strokes
to ring all ina1483
a1483 in Archaeologia (1887) 50 51 Be for the last pele warne the moroues masse preste, and aske hym if shal rynge alle in.
1483 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 89074) (1881) 308 To Rynge jn, conclassitare.
?1567 Merie Tales Master Skelton sig. Di In the mornyng, the Sexten rang all in to seruise.
1581 R. Mulcaster Positions xxxvii. 141 If ye crie come who will, or ring out all in.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Coppeter, to ring all-in, or the last peale.
a1637 B. Jonson Tale of Tub ii. ii. 21 in Wks. (1640) III Wee now are going To Church, in way of matrimony..; Tha' rung all in a' ready. View more context for this quotation
1678 S. Butler Hudibras: Third Pt. iii. i. 71 Because it is..The only Sts. Bell that Rings all in.
1696 T. D'Urfey Comical Hist. Don Quixote: 3rd Pt. ii. ii. 16 Besides, to forbid me eating too, when my Belly has rung all-in above this two hours—Sir, I'm your Vassal; but to think I wont Dine at my Daughter's Wedding, is such a Tyranical Whim, that I must rebel.
d. transitive. With adverb or prepositional phrase: to summon (a person) with a bell or bells to (a place or event) or down, in, up, etc.In quot. 1483 without adverbial element.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > church-going > attend (church) [verb (transitive)] > summon or dismiss by a bell
ring1483
toll1611
society > communication > indication > signalling > audible signalling > ringing of bells as signal > ring (a bell) as signal [verb (transitive)] > summon or dismiss by
ring1483
toll1611
knolla1616
knell1816
1483 tr. Adam of Eynsham Reuelation i. [a]5v And when the chaptur was ronge as the tyme requyrede to calle the couent to matens, he went than to cherche.
1674 in Notes & Queries 9th Ser. 9 463/2 A territt..to hang a bell in, to ring the poor people to prayers.
1736 H. Fielding Pasquin iv. 48 Come, ring up the first Ghost.
1761 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy III. iii. 12 He had got his right hand to the bell to ring up Trim.
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xxiv. 227 Ring in the orchestra, Grudden.
1846 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) iii. 21 She had been rung down into the glass room as usual.
1869 Mrs. H. Wood Roland Yorke Prologue ii. 32 Ring the people of the house up, should they have gone to bed too.
1908 J. Masefield Capt. Margaret ii. 50 At this moment four bells were made; the cabin steward rang them to the cabin supper.
1958 A. Dewlen Bone Pickers xxiii. 391 Soon, in some noontime, he would ring her in. There would be the old confidences.
2004 J. L. Sutherland Steamboats of Gloucester & North Shore vi. 136 Well, the boss rang me down, and we coasted for a ways.
12. intransitive. Chiefly of the ears or the head: to be affected with a humming or buzzing noise, often as an after-effect of a blow or loud noise; to be filled with a noise.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sounds heard in body > [verb (intransitive)] > ringing, etc., in ears
ringa1425
sing1621
whizz1797
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) 1 Kings 3.11 Y make a word in Israel, which word who euer schal here, bothe hise eeris schulen rynge [a1382 E. V. shulen tynclen; L. tinnient].
1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Tinnio My eares rynge of themselfe.
a1625 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Captaine v. i, in Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ii2v/1 Certainly my body Is of a wild-fire, For my head rings backward, Or else I have a morise in my braines.
1676 J. Dryden Aureng-Zebe ii. 27 My ears still ring with noise, I'm vext to death: Tongue-kill'd.
1770 J. Armstrong Forced Marriage 126 Hark how my ears ring!
1825 J. Neal Brother Jonathan III. 206 His temples throbbed—his head rang.
1834 S. Cooper Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) I. 704 The ears ring with unusual sounds.
1851 D. Jerrold St. Giles & St. James (new ed.) xxv, in Writings I. 254 Already his ears rang with the shoutings of..a delighted senate.
1890 E. S. Ellis Lost in Samoa vi. 31 As he began slowly climbing to his feet, his head was ringing.
1982 R. McGough Waving at Trains 14 The Morning After... Head still ringing from the noise Of nights keeling over like glass dominoes.
2001 Assoc. Perioperative Registered Nurses 73 10/2 The bombs were so close that Ruby's ears rang.
13.
a. transitive. To usher in or out with the sound of a bell or bells; to bring or convey in this manner. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > playing instruments > bell-ringing > [verb (transitive)] > bring in, out, etc., by ringing
ring1554
chime1588
1554 in T. North Bells & Bell Lore (1888) 80 For shot~tynge of iij ropes when the[y] ronge bishop Samson in.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iii. ii. 179 A cough sir, which I cought with ringing in the Kings affaires vpon his coronation day. View more context for this quotation
1600 P. Holland tr. Florus Breviaries liv, in tr. Livy Rom. Hist. 1241 At his death he was rung out of this world with a notable peale of farewell.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) iv. ii. 41 The Dolphins drumme..Sings heauy Musicke.., And mine shall ring thy dire departure out. View more context for this quotation
1630 Bp. J. Hall Occas. Medit. §lvi It is possible that such a one, even by that discordous noyse may ring in others into the Tryumphant Church of Heaven.
1633 G. Herbert Temple: Sacred Poems 8 A noise of passions ringing me for dead Unto a place where is no rest.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth iv, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. II. 109 For there will we ring-in Lent.
1844 J. T. J. Hewlett Parsons & Widows I. xiii. 260 Mr. Akenside resigned, and was ‘rung out’ of the parish.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam civ. 162 Ring out the old, ring in the new..; Ring out the false, ring in the true. View more context for this quotation
1900 G. Ade Fables in Slang 74 The Pew-Holders didn't even admit..that the Preacher had rung in some New Ones [sc. names].
1922 D. H. Lawrence England my England 45 The clanging pain in his head rang out the rest of his consciousness.
1997 Resource Packet for Neo-Paganism & Witchcraft 27 Yule, the Winter Solstice, is a festival of peace and a celebration of waxing solar light... I ring in the new Solar year with bells.
b. transitive. to ring bees: to make a noise with metal utensils in order to try to influence the swarming of bees. Now usually figurative (literary).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > bee-keeping > [verb (transitive)] > settle by ringing
to ring bees1562
ting1623
tinglea1657
tang1881
1562 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tounge (new ed.) ii. vii, in Wks. sig. Hivv She ringth a peale,..suche one, As folke ring bees with basons.
1839 R. Smith Cottagers' Bee-book ii. 33 When your bees swarm, the first thing is to get the key and fire shovel, to ring them.
1881 A. Parker Gloss. Words Oxfordshire (Suppl.) 95 Unless the bees are ‘rung’ it is said that the owner cannot claim them if they settle on another person's premises.
1913 Folk-lore 24 88 I..was awakened quite early one morning by a loud clanging noise. I was told they were ‘ringing the bees’. This was done by beating a fire-shovel with a door key, and was intended to induce the queen bee to settle.
1949 M. Rukeyser Elegies iv. 32 Church-bells..ringing the bees in the hot garden with their mixing sounds.
2004 C. West Rainbringer vi. 94 I pass a spotlit penstemon, whose spiraling bells ring bees.
c. Theatre. (a) transitive and intransitive. To direct (a curtain) to be drawn up or let down, originally by sounding a bell. (b) intransitive. Of a curtain: to be drawn up or let down in this way. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > the staging of a theatrical production > stage [verb (transitive)] > raise or lower curtain
ring1767
1767 D. Garrick Peep behind Curtain ii. i. 30 Pray be so good as to ring down the curtain, that we may rehearse in form.
1807 Monthly Mirror Aug. 133 The prompter rings the lofty curtain down.
1825 Kaleidoscope 22 Mar. 319/2 At length the curtain rang up.
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. II. 207 Look sharp below there, gents,..they're a-going to ring up.
1882 Daily News 2 Oct. 2/2 The functionary whose business it is to ‘ring down’ had satisfied himself that nobody wanted any more of it.
1887 Times 31 Aug. 4/3 The curtain had to be rung down before the play was ended.
1901 ‘Linesman’ Words by Eyewitness 75 Before the curtain was rung up on the great spectacular drama of Vaal Krantz.
1913 F. H. Burnett T. Tembarom xv. 186 ‘Now,’ he said, ‘we can ring up for the first act.’ She filled the teapot.
1916 S. Kaye-Smith John Galsworthy 63 Thus the curtain rings down on Irene Forsyte, crushed under the heel of prosperity.
1950 H. F. Maltby (title) Ring up the curtain.
1984 A. Shapira Berl xv. 299 If there had previously been some prospect that Berl might accede, the attacks rang down the curtain on it.
2003 J. Watts Mae West iv. 73 West's play continued to evolve until just before the curtain rang up on its first tryout performance.
d. figurative. Chiefly U.S. colloquial. to ring in.
(a) intransitive. To join in, esp. uninvited; to get involved. Chiefly with on, with. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1847 N. J. T. Dana Let. 14 Apr. in R. H. Ferrell Monterrey is Ours! (1990) xiii. 202 I loafed about after we halted till about tattoo, when I went and ‘rung in’ on De Leon.
1887 Locomotive Firemen's Mag. Sept. 532/1 The word suction is much used. I think it should..be applied to the fellow waiting to ring in on the drinks.
1903 H. Hapgood Autobiogr. Thief xii. 289 It was a good graft, however, and I was a fool for not ringing in on it.
1909 ‘M. Twain’ Extracts from Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven 49 Well, I was so hungry for the ways and the sober talk I was used to, that I tried to ring in with the old people, but they wouldn't have it.
1917 A. B. Emerson Ruth Fielding in Saddle xviii. 148 Pick out the best claims before any of these cheap skates around here can ring in on it.
(b) transitive. To include, take into consideration; to bring (someone) into an operation, activity, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > condition or state of being inclusive > include [verb (transitive)] > in a class, description, or reckoning
accounta1464
lap1552
include1575
shroud1593
comprise1597
list1622
classicate1654
classa1658
distribute1664
to run over ——1724
immerse1734
group1759
compute1818
classify1854
count1857
to ring in1916
1916 J. Forbes Commuters iii. 62 Church! You're not going to ring me in on that?
1925 T. Dreiser Amer. Trag. II. iii. xvi. 202 She can't be kept out of the case... We'll have to ring her in, I'm afraid.
1954 P. G. Wodehouse Jeeves & Feudal Spirit viii. 72 I've got the whole family here... I only wanted Trotter, but Mrs. T. and Percy rang themselves in.
1974 Publishers Weekly 30 Dec. 90/1 Mr. Brooke is summoned from far away Lima, and an old suitor of Philippa's, Lord Tancred, is rung in to help.
2005 T. Taylor Billy the Kid 109 Don't tell me they rung him in on a posse?
14. To communicate by telephone.In North America the more usual term is call v. 25a.
a. transitive. To communicate with (a person, organization, building, etc.) by telephone; to connect with (a number) in this way. Frequently with up.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > communicate with by telephone [verb (transitive)]
telephone1877
call1879
ring1880
to call up1882
phone1889
to give a ring1895
buzz1914
to give (a person) a tinkle1921
to dial up1924
1880 Punch 17 July 13/2 For you upon them both may frown, And say that you are shocked, or May knock the Secretary down, And then ring up the Doctor.
1882 T. D. Lockwood Pract. Information for Telephonists 130 Ask the office operator to ring up the complaining person and await results.
1906 S. Ford Shorty McCabe vi. 150 He was goin' to ring up the police reserves.
1930 J. B. Priestley Angel Pavement viii. 398 He rang me up last night, at home, to say he'd just arrived and would be down this morning.
1958 L. A. G. Strong Treason in Egg vii. 127 You'd better ring the police.
1989 D. Edgar Midas Connection i. in Edgar Shorts 155 They rang her up. I mean, now, five minutes ago.
2005 S. Horner & J. Swarbrooke Leisure Marketing iii. vii. 108 The customer can often negotiate a substantial reduction on the rate if they ring the hotel during the evening that they want to stay.
b. intransitive. to ring off: (originally) to signal by a bell that a telephone conversation has ended and the line can be disconnected; (now) to discontinue a telephone conversation by replacing the receiver or pressing the appropriate key (cf. to hang up 1 at hang v. Phrasal verbs). Also of a telephone: to be disconnected or switched off in this way. Also figurative (Australian and New Zealand slang): to stop talking.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > communicate by telephone [verb (intransitive)] > end connection
disconnect1879
to ring off1882
to hang up1911
1882 T. D. Lockwood Pract. Information for Telephonists 85 Frequently an annunciator between two circuits when connected to allow the subscriber, if he please, to ring off.
1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 134/2 When the subscribers have finished, both call the exchange or, as it is commonly put, ‘ring off’.
1895 Inlander Dec. 114 Ring off, stop talking.
1899 Electrician 1 Dec. 181/2 Ringing off is avoided, as this is performed automatically by replacing the receiver on the hook.
1901 Munsey's Mag. 24 800 She heard him ring off, hang up the receiver, and go out into the hall.
1904 W. G. Van T. Sutphen Gates of Chance v. 100 The telephone rang off sharply.
1906 E. Dyson Fact'ry 'Ands vi. 71 ‘Shut up! D'yeh 'ear?.. Arr-r-r ring off, cant yeh!’ The girl..opened a startled eye.
1906 A. Bennett Whom God hath Joined iv. 158 He rang off, curtly, without another word.
1920 R. Macaulay Potterism iii. i. 104 You mustn't ring off yet, indeed you mustn't. Hold on while I tell daddy.
1940 F. Sargeson Man & Wife 34 Wouldn't you like to stay out here for good? Fred said. Ring off, Ken said. I got a bite.
1973 S. Dobyns Man of Little Evils xii. 127 The operator came back on the line. ‘I'm afraid your party has rung off.’
1977 A. Clarke Prime Minister (1978) 150 And the phone rang off.
2007 E. Adler Meet me in Venice lxix. 334 ‘Okay,’ she said in a small voice, as he rang off.
c. intransitive. To make a telephone call (usually to a particular party identified by the context). Also with through, up.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > communicate by telephone [verb (intransitive)]
telephone1877
call1879
phone1885
speak1885
ring1887
to call in1930
1887 Cassell's Family Mag. 703/2 An indicating disc, which by its vibrations tells the bell push..of the person who has rung up.
1913 G. B. Shaw Let. 14 July in Bernard Shaw & Mrs. P. Campbell (1952) 132 I shall ring up tomorrow in spite of my dread of being unwelcome. I rang a second time today; but the answer was buzz, buzz.
1934 N. Marsh Man lay Dead xii. 207 I'll ring through at about one o'clock.
1977 ‘M. Underwood’ Murder with Malice x. 91 ‘Thanks for ringing, sir. I appreciate it.’.. Nick dropped the receiver back.
1980 J. Archer Quiver Full of Arrows 44 The hotel manager rang through to say that regretfully Mr. de Silveira would have to eat in the main dining room.
2004 T. Miller Getting Promoted p. vii So I was in my car, and I was driving along, and my boss rang up, and he said, ‘You've been promoted’.
d. transitive and intransitive. to ring back: to make a telephone call to (a person) in response to one received from that person; (also) to make a call (to) on the same subject as an earlier one.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > communicate with by telephone [verb (transitive)] > in reply
to ring back1891
1891 Eng. Mechanic & World of Sci. 13 Nov. 269/3 Then to ring back, all that has to be done is for the key to be depressed that rings the other station.
1915 ‘I. Hay’ First Hundred Thousand vi. 67 Telephonic communication between firingpoint and butts is now established. That is to say, whenever Mr Cockerell rings the bell some one in the butts courteously rings back.
1942 N. Balchin Darkness falls from Air iii. 57 I hung up. ‘Pearce is going to ring you back,’ I said.
1944 H. McCloy Panic 118 This is Jim, testing. I'm going to hang up and then I want you to ring me back.
1972 M. Drabble Needle's Eye 276 After another ten minutes, he rang back and said that all the barristers in the relevant Chambers seemed to be out.
1977 W. Marshall Thin Air i. 11 He said quickly, ‘I'll ring you back.’
1998 R. M. Brown Dark Night, Wild Sea 13 He rang back immediately. No answer. He rang back again two minutes later.
2005 J. Smith P.I. on Hot Tin Roof (2006) 285 She hung up, but Talba rang her back.
e. transitive and intransitive. to ring in: to transmit (a verbal message) by telephone; to report in this way.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > communicate by telephone [verb (intransitive)] > report by telephone
to ring in1934
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > communicate with by telephone [verb (transitive)] > communicate a message by telephone
telephone1877
phone1910
to ring in1934
to call in1939
1934 B. C. Grant When Old Trails were New xxx. 218 The lonely lookout had rung in the news, ‘Fire spreading!’
1949 N. Marsh Swing, Brother, Swing xi. 254 I'll ring in then and get something to eat.
1956 New Statesman 18 Aug. 180/3 We had to think about finding a telephone booth from which to ring in a preliminary story.
1971 B. Graham Spy Trap i. 7 He..drove to the secondary rendezvous point... Maybe Hannifin had rung in.
2003 C. Sutton Needle in Heart Murder vi. 58 A woman rang in with ‘very important information’.
f. intransitive. to ring round (or around): to call a succession of people, organizations, numbers, etc., by telephone.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > communicate with by telephone [verb (transitive)] > with a succession of people
to ring round (or around)1938
1938 Times 23 July 13/17 The night porter at the hotel..promptly rang round to all our rooms to advise the guests of their good fortune.
1960 J. Stroud Shorn Lamb xv. 170 If he does [turn up], I'll ring round for a hostel.
1981 J. Wainwright All on Summer's Day 66 Ring round the other divisions. I want some C.I.D. men.
1989 N. K. Scott Shopping Centre Design x. 171/2 It usually takes about 24 hours for competitors to ring around and find out who is involved.
2005 S. Dooley Big Twitch xxxi. 271 I started to ring around the air charter companies.
15. to ring up.
a. transitive. To record (a sale, money received, etc.) on a cash register or similar device, originally with the sounding of a bell. Also more generally: to make a record or note of.
ΚΠ
1900 T. Dreiser Sister Carrie xl. 451 ‘I won't apply as a motorman,’ he answered. ‘I can ring up fares all right.’
1914 Pop. Mech. May 165 (advt.) If you are looking for a business location, thousands of new dollars are waiting to be rung up on your cash register at Stuart River.
1937 J. T. Farrell Fellow Countrymen 180 He paid Kitty fifteen cents, which she rang up.
1939 Sun (Baltimore) 18 Jan. 5/5 Asked if the ship's speeds in any of its previous trips through the canal had been ‘rung up’, Leonard Nieberline, first officer, answered in the negative.
1957 Economist 21 Dec. 1051/1 Last Saturday, when the strike was crumbling, the shops stayed open until nine; many rang up record sales.
1962 Times 15 Mar. 9/7 The items in connexion with which he was accused did not appear upon the cash receipt slip. The cashier must have omitted to ring these up.
1976 ‘E. McBain’ Guns vii. 148 The cashier rings up the check, money comes tumbling down the cash register chute.
2003 B. Sloan Middle of Nowhere 174 He shoved a charge card at the black woman at the cash register, marveling at her nails as she rang up the sale.
b. transitive. figurative. Chiefly North American. To put on the record; to accomplish, attain.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > make a success of [verb (transitive)] > achieve or notch up
to ring up1929
post1949
1929 Pennsylvania Gaz. 22 Feb. 421/1 With Draper doing particularly good work, they rang up an 8-3 lead during the first eleven minutes.
1956 A. Huxley Adonis & Alphabet 167 Energies which, if canalized and directed, can be made to do useful work and ring up handsome profits.
1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 15 Jan. 20/3 Wes Coke, the young driver from Petrolia, rang up three winners on the matinee card.
2004 W. McNeil Gabby Hartnett vi. 118 Game two was all Chicago's as Pat Malone rang up another victory, this one by an 11-4 score.
III. Specific figurative developments, chiefly of sense 10.
16. transitive. With object peal. Often with the implication of rebuke or criticism; esp. in to ring (a person) a peal: to scold (a person); †also in the same sense with other objects. Now archaic. rare.
ΚΠ
1562 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tounge (new ed.) ii. vii, in Wks. sig. Hivv She beginneth..with a cry..To whiche she ringth a peale, a larom.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iii. ii. 44 Ere..The shard-borne Beetle..Hath rung Nights yawning Peale. View more context for this quotation
1636 P. Massinger Great Duke of Florence iii. i. sig. G2v My pockets ring A golden peale.
1682 N. O. tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Lutrin ii. 140 My Angry Ghost shall haunt thy Conscious Soul, I'le Ring thee such a Peal, shall make thee Howl.
1706 R. Estcourt Fair Example iii. ii. 35 Three Guineas! and what good will they do me? They'll hardly pay for a Week's Pins.—Hearkee, my next Demand shall be a Hundred; if you don't comply presently, I'll ring such a Peal to the World.
1753 J. Wesley Directions for Married Persons xv, in Christian Libr. XXII. 106 The Husband may perhaps ring his Wife a Peal concerning her Duty.
1796 Grose's Dict. Vulgar Tongue (ed. 3) To Ring a Peal, to scold: chiefly applied to women. His wife rung him a fine peal!
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas III. vii. i. 16 Her tongue..rung a bob-major of invective.
1993 P. R. Wilkinson Thes. Trad. Eng. Metaphors 428/1 Ring him a peal/Ring a peal in his ears, Give him a reverberating scolding.
17. to ring (the) changes.
a. transitive. To go through numerous variations of a process; to repeat essentially the same word, statement, etc., in various different ways. Also to ring (the) chimes.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > change [verb (intransitive)] > fluctuate or vary
varyc1369
diversify1481
waver1490
to ring (the) changes1614
fluctuate1655
windmill1694
range1750
vibrate1782
vacillate1835
scale1974
1614 T. Adams Diuells Banket vi. 331 Some ring the Changes of opinions.
1670 J. Eachard Grounds Contempt of Clergy 62 They shall only ring you over a few changes upon the three words: crying, Faith, Hope and Charity: Hope, Faith and Charity; and so on.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 60. ¶2 The Poet rung the Chymes upon these eight several Words.
1763 J. Brown Diss. Poetry & Music 66 Commentators and Critics ring Changes on their single, double, oblique, right-handed, and left-handed Flutes.
1835 R. Southey Doctor III. 106 He could..have astounded him by ringing changes upon Almugea, Cazimi, [etc.].
1845 B. Disraeli Sybil III. vi. i. 157 Ring the changes on great measures and great experiments till it is time to go down and make a House.
1865 B. Harte Arcadia Revisited in Writings (1914) XX. 313 And I that same dyspeptic youth Who rang the chimes on ‘sooth’ and ‘truth’.
1872 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch III. v. xlv. 41 He had caught the words ‘expectant method’, and rang chimes on this and other learned phrases to accompany the assurance that Lydgate ‘knew a thing or two more than the rest of the doctors’.
1921 Amer. Woman Jan. 9/1 A clever hostess will take pains to devise new shapes, effective color contrasts, and unusual fillings..instead of ringing the changes perpetually on plain chicken, ham, and cream-cheese-walnut paste.
1951 G. Heyer Quiet Gentleman xviii. 267 The Dowager harangued him for half an hour, ringing all the changes between scolding, dictating, and pleading.
1993 R. F. Capon Myst. Christ vi. 101 True enough, he does ring the chimes on ‘everlasting fire reserved for the devil and his angels’, and ‘everlasting punishment’.
2007 L. Nordmann et al. Professional Beauty Therapy (ed. 3) xiii. 441 The beauty of this type of art is that it is attractive when only clear polish (or none!) is worn, and the client can then ring the changes by applying a coloured enamel over the top.
b. transitive. slang. To substitute one thing for another fraudulently and take the more valuable item. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > act fraudulently, cheat [verb (intransitive)] > substitute fraudulently
to ring (the) changes1786
1786 Particulars Trials John Shepherd 8 To initiate him into the art of what that gentleman stiled ringing the changes; that is, ingeniously substituting a worse for a better article, and decamping without a discovery.
1819 J. H. Vaux New Vocab. Flash Lang. in Memoirs II. 201 Ringing the changes, is a fraud practised by smashers, who when they receive good money in change of a guinea, &c., ring-in one or more pieces of base with great dexterity, and then request the party to change them.
1859 J. C. Hotten Dict. Slang Ringing the Changes, changing bad money for good.
1875 Chambers's Jrnl. 67 The London news-boys..know how to ring the changes, and how to make old editions pass for new ones.
1926 E. Wallace Door with Seven Locks xii. 114 The art of ringing changes is to keep everything in sight.
1931 F. P. Wensley Detective Days xvi. 147 Even to this day ‘ringing the changes’ is sometimes practised, for there are still people who do not know how this hoary old fraud is carried out.
18. slang.
a. transitive. To change or exchange fraudulently to gain a more valuable item. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > exchange > exchange, change for [verb (transitive)]
changec1225
truck?c1225
interchangec1374
permutec1400
wrixlec1400
turnc1449
wissel1487
chaffer1530
niffer1540
bandy1589
to chaffer words1590
swap1590
barter1596
counterchange1598
commute1633
trade1636
countercambiate1656
ring1786
rebarter1845
trade1864
swop1890
permutate1898
interconvert1953
1786 Whole Art Thieving 8 The Ringing Tuggs and Seats, that is, changing great coats and saddles.
1812 Sporting Mag. 39 210 How could'st thou be so silly, Flash screens [bad notes] to ring for home-spun rope.
1819 J. H. Vaux New Vocab. Flash Lang. in Memoirs II. 202 Ringing Castors signifies frequenting churches and other public assemblies, for the purpose of changing hats, by taking away a good and leaving a shabby one in its place.
1912 N.Z. Truth 16 Mar. 6 After giving the [counterfeit] coin to the cabby he repented, and wanted to get it back, but Watson said, ‘Never mind, it's all right; he'll ring it on to someone else.’
b. transitive. Chiefly Australian and New Zealand. to ring in: to substitute (a thing) fraudulently.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > exchange > substitution > substitute [verb (transitive)] > fraudulently
suppone1542
suppose1607
to ring in1819
switch1897
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > treat fraudulently, cheat [verb (transitive)] > substitute fraudulently
underputc1400
suppone1542
suppose1607
to ring in1819
humbug1821
switch1897
1819 J. H. Vaux New Vocab. Flash Lang. in Memoirs II. 201 Ringing the changes, is a fraud practised by smashers, who when they receive good money in change of a guinea, &c., ring in one or more pieces of base with great dexterity and then request the party to change them.
1855 J. C. Hannibal Black Diamonds (1857) xxxiv. 115 An den I git no tin shillins an puter quarters, as am continually rung in on me by dis meen, black sliden congregashun.
1894 J. N. Maskelyne ‘Sharps & Flats’ 248 Another method of cheating the players is to ring in a loaded die which will fall six.
1919 Smith's Weekly (Sydney) 5 July 5/1 Two years ago an attempt was made to ring-in a pony which had come from Queensland.
1948 V. Palmer Golconda iv. 26 ‘What's the trouble?’..‘Dirty work. That dago, Joe Comino, trying to ring in a..double-header. Macy Donovan was keeping the [two-up] ring.’
1962 D. Glover Hot Water Sailor 61 When somebody-or-other rings in a racehorse..takes it to Australia with painted fetlocks and a white star on its forehead, and is consequently warned off every course for evermore.
1984 Australian 23 Aug. (Sydney ed.) 7/5 Endeavour to frustrate those who would attempt to ring in horses.
c. transitive. To change the identity of (a motor vehicle) fraudulently.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > forgery, falsification > forge, falsify [verb (transitive)] > identity of motor vehicle
ring1962
1962 Autocar 5 Jan. 17/1 Warren explained that..ringing cars was..the sale of ones which had been stolen, using the identity and log books of ones which insurance companies had written off.
1977 A. Hunter Gently Instrumental ii. 19 The Parry brothers..copped three apiece for ringing cars.
2003 R. Kyriakides Master Con Man 78 One was called Johnny Gatto (or Johnny the Cat because he had been a cat burglar) who was now ringing cars and selling them in Belgium.
19. transitive. Australian and New Zealand slang. To shear more sheep than (other shearers in a shed) in a given period. Also in extended use. Esp. in to ring the shed. Cf. ringer n.1 3b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > sheep-farming > sheep-shearing > shear sheep [verb (transitive)] > beat at shearing
ring1894
1894 Bulletin (Sydney) 13 Jan. 7/3 Legge got the run, Fogg cleared, Bell ‘rung’ the shed, and Warte turned out to be a ‘scab’.
1905 in A. B. Paterson Old Bush Songs 27 And once I rung Cudjingie shed, and blued it in a week.
1926 Bulletin (Sydney) 11 Feb. 24/1 What cares the cook if it don't fine up? It's he who'll ring the shed.
a1948 L. G. D. Acland Early Canterbury Runs (1951) 372 Sleeveless singlet... Named after the famous Jack Howe who rang many of the South Island sheds in the 1890s.
1957 D. Niland Call me when Cross turns Over v. 132 He would take on anything, wheat-lumping, tree-felling, shearing—always ringing the shed—droving, anything at all that suited him.
1967 Telegraph (Brisbane) 25 Mar. 2/5 To ‘ring the shed’ a shearer's cook has to earn more money than the top shearer.
1989 N.Z. Eng. Newsletter 3 27 Ring, to outdo all other shearers by ‘ringing the board’ or ‘ringing the shed’.
2007 A. Agar Queensland Ringer (2008) ii. 16 I've heard that the bloke that shears the most sheep is the bloke that rings the shed.

Phrases

P1. In sense 8.
a.
(a) to ring the (also a person's) bell: to achieve orgasm; to cause a person to experience orgasm; to engage in sexual intercourse (with a person).In later use perhaps representing an extended use of sense Phrases 1a(b).In quot. 1935 as part of an extended metaphor.
ΚΠ
c1450 in R. L. Greene Early Eng. Carols (1935) 308 Forsothe tho Jak and yc wenten to bedde... When Jak had don, tho he rong the bell; Al nyght ther he made me to dwelle.
1593 Passionate Morrice sig. B3 He..was pleased by her, with wagging his bawble, and ringing his bell, while she pickt his pocket and cut his pursse... A prettie sleight of a slattering Slut.
1929 ‘Memphis Minnie’ Frisco Town (song) You can toot your whistle, You can ring your bell But I know you been wanting it By the way you smell... Got to wait now 'til we go to bed.]
1935 M. B. Cary Mademoiselle from Armentieres II. 19 Many a shot that rang the bell..Was just a dud to this Mademoiselle.
1947 N. Johnson Let. (1981) 35 After some heavy preliminary work, he manages to ring the bell again, possibly for the last time in his life.
1987 E. Leonard Bandits vii. 92 I don't doubt for a minute that you're gonna get Anna Marie to ring your bell.
1999 R. Jackson Oaktown Devil viii. 70 Once he got deep into his womanizing, he didn't ring my bell anymore, spreading it around too thin, I guess... The sex got plain.
2004 K. L. Johnson Pretenses xlviii. 147 The closer she got to the peak of excitement, the louder and more profane she became. ‘Ring my bell. Ring my goddamned bell, Sterling,’ she purred.
(b) to ring the bell: to carry off the prize; to be the best of the lot; to win recognition; to be a complete success.Originally in allusion to the ringing of the bell attached to a strength-testing machine.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > succeed or be a success [verb (intransitive)]
speedc1175
fayc1300
provec1300
flourishc1400
passc1425
prosper1434
succeedc1450
to take placea1464
to come well to (our) pass1481
shift?1533
hitc1540
walka1556
fadge1573
thrive1587
work1599
to come (good) speedc1600
to go off1608
sort1613
go1699
answer1721
to get along1768
to turn up trumps1785
to come off1854
pan1865
scour1871
arrive1889
to work out1899
to ring the bell1900
to go over1907
click1916
happen1949
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being the best > [verb (intransitive)]
to take the bun1371
to bear the bellc1374
to have, bear, carry, strike the stroke1531
to take the cake (also cakes)1839
to take (also cop, win) the biscuit1880
to ring the bell1900
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > succeed or be a success [verb (intransitive)] > win
win1297
obtain1441
to go away with it1489
triumph1508
to carry (also get, lose, win, etc.) the day1557
to bear it1602
carry1602
to carry away the bucklers1608
to carry one's point1654
to carry it off1828
to ring the bell1900
1900 J. M. Barrie Tommy & Grizel viii. 102 It was a shot that rang the bell.
1915 Munsey's Mag. Apr. 561/2 I am reading your ‘Barry Newton’ yarn. It scores a bulls' eye, it rings the bell, it brings a coconut to earth.
1928 Publishers' Weekly 26 May 2094 This [book] liberally illustrated, with a great jacket, rings the bell.
1945 Daily Mirror 15 Aug. 3/3 Leeds Corporation has fifty ‘retired’ trams to sell... They think a tram would ‘ring the bell’ as a home, week-end bungalow, or greenhouse.
1976 Church Times 30 July 7/5 The wise sight-seer knows that, however alert and receptive he is, even the treasures of Florence aren't going to ring the bell every time.
(c) to ring a person's bell: to please or appeal to a person.
ΚΠ
1972 K. Kelly Wonderful World of Women's Wear Daily iii. 49 Fairchild offices tucked into her HotPants, Brady wandered past her desk to check the scene out. ‘Well—she rings my bell,’ he reported back.
1994 Vox July 121/5 If Joe Smooth's uptempo ‘Promised Land’..or Raze's accented ‘Break For Love’ don't ring your bell then you're obviously just not in the House.
2008 Crain's N.Y. Business (Nexis) 26 May 39 Brasserie Cognac's version of macaroni and cheese rings my bell with its add-ins of ham and truffles.
b. colloquial. Chiefly U.S. to ring one's own bell: = to blow one's own trumpet at trumpet n. 3.
ΚΠ
1859 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (ed. 2) (at cited word) To Ring one's own Bell is the same as ‘to be one's own trumpeter’.
1860 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Aug. 208/2 I'm not the chap to ring my own bell; still I go for this, that decent extraction is some; and as every man must have had a grandfather, it's worth knowing what he was.
1981 W. Rudolph in M. M. Smith W. Rudolph (2006) xii. 109 No one, I've discovered, comes ringing the door to say, ‘We're looking for Wilma Rudolph to do some work for us’. I had to ring my own bell.
2003 A. Gelb & K. Levine Survival Guide for Paralegals v. 62 You've got to learn to ring your own bell, because you can be plenty sure that nobody's going to ring it for you.
c. to ring a bell: to awaken a memory.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > memory > reminder, putting in mind > remind [phrase]
to put (a person) in minda1500
to put (something) into (also in) a person's head1539
refresh1542
to put (a person) in the head of1561
to jog the memory1778
to ring a bell1933
1934 A. Huxley Beyond Mexique Bay 51 Why should the Local Pavlov have chosen to ring just those particular bells which happen to be rung?]
1933 L. Thayer Counterfeit iii. 27 Wait a second, Ray... Why does that name ring a bell with you?
1939 N. Monsarrat This is Schoolroom ii. xi. 239 The things we talked about meant nothing to them: they rang no bell.
1945 M. Allingham Coroner's Pidgin xxiii. 203 That's where I saw the name, then... It rang only a very faint bell.
1957 P. Frankau Bridge 64 ‘Do you remember..the stage~hands who built the set?’ ‘That rings a bell.’
2003 Independent on Sunday 30 Mar. (LifeEtc. section) 4/2 The words ‘endocrine disruption’ probably don't ring any bells, but maybe you've heard of ‘gender-bending’ chemicals.
P2. In sense 14.
a. Originally U.S. to ring off the hook: (of a telephone) to ring incessantly, esp. because of a large number of incoming calls.
ΚΠ
1942 Atlanta Constit. 22 Mar. 1/4 Chief H. J. Cates, of the city sanitary department, found his telephone ringing off the hook all day with requests to clean catch basins which stop-up sewers.
1977 G. Hunt How to Audition 9 Too often an actor will get an agent, then sit back and wait for the phone to ring off the hook, and wonder why it doesn't.
1989 Science 19 May 768/1 The phone has been ringing off the hook with calls from colleagues who first ask ‘Are you all right?’
2008 K. Fleisher Talking out of School 74 The phone rings off the hook. I pile up the messages for her.
b. colloquial. don't ring us, we'll ring you and variants: = don't call us, we'll call you at call v. Phrases 3h. Also shortened as don't ring us.Not used in North America.
ΚΠ
1969 Listener 6 Feb. 187/1 When Jelly Roll Morton..played his compositions to the Harlem team, eyebrows were raised no further than the pejorative ‘don't ring us’ level.
1980 A. Auswaks Trick of Diamonds iii. 80 ‘Don't ring us, we'll ring you,’ grunted Bob Jones sarcastically.
1990 Independent (Nexis) 8 Feb. 8 The message..to the British Conservative government is ‘Thank you Mrs Thatcher, for your lead and inspiration,’ and to the Labour Party, ‘Don't ring us, we'll ring you.’
2001 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 3 Nov. 40 [His] office confirmed yesterday his plan for immigration had not been released and could not say when this might be. Don't ring us, we'll ring you.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

ringv.2

Brit. /rɪŋ/, U.S. /rɪŋ/
Inflections: Past tense and past participle ringed;
Forms: Middle English ryng, Middle English–1500s rynge, 1500s– ring, 1700s wring. Past tense and past participle.

α. Middle English yrynged, Middle English–1500s rynged; Scottish pre-1700 ringit, pre-1700 ringnit, pre-1700 rynggyt, pre-1700 ryngit.

β. 1500s roong, 1500s roung, 1500s– rung (now nonstandard).

Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: ring n.1
Etymology: < ring n.1 Compare West Frisian ringje to put a ring in the nose of (an animal), to put a ring on the leg of (a bird), to form a circle, Middle Dutch ringen to put a ring in the nose of (an animal), to surround with something ring-shaped, to encircle, to dominate (Dutch ringen ), Old High German ringen , hringen to put into a circle (compare giringen , gihringen to form a circle, to encircle; Middle High German ringen , German ringen ), also ringōn , hringōn to arrange, to arrange in a circle, Old Icelandic hringa to provide with a ring, to hook, (of a serpent) to coil into rings, also hringja to encircle, surround, Old Swedish ringia to put in a circle (Swedish ringa ), early modern Danish ringe to provide with a ring, to encircle (Danish ringe ). In Old English only prefixed forms of the verb are attested: behringan to surround, encircle (compare sense 8a and be- prefix), ymbhringan to surround, encircle (compare sense 8a and umbe- prefix; see also note below). Compare ringed adj. Compare post-classical Latin ringare, ringere to put a ring or hoop around (from 1295 in British sources), to put a ring in the nose of (a pig) (1302 in a British source).Earlier currency (in sense 8a) is perhaps shown by the following:OE Harley Gloss. (1966) 93 Constipata ,i. consita, repleta, circumdata, embþrungen uel hringed.However, hringed is almost certainly an elliptical gloss, and the word embhringed (i.e. ymbhringed , past participle of ymbhringan : see above) is to be understood. Strong forms in the past tense and past participle (see β. forms) probably result from association with ring v.1
I. Senses primarily relating to a hollow circular object.
1.
a. transitive. To put a ring in the nose of (an animal) to restrain it or to control its behaviour. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal keeping practices general > [verb (transitive)] > ring nose
ring1446
peg1543
nuzzle1850
1446 Inventory in H. Fishwick Hist. Parish Lytham (1907) 80 (MED) j himer of yren, j thyxall, j Shave, j ele to ryng Swyne.
1519 Surtees Misc. (1890) 32 Item yt the swyn be rynged be Saynt Elene day.
1570 T. Tusser Hundreth Good Pointes Husbandry (new ed.) f. 9v For rowting thy pasture, ring hogs thou hast nede.
1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 13v Let hoggs be roung [1580: roong], both olde & young.
1630 T. Dekker Second Pt. Honest Whore iii. i. 46 She praies you to ring him by this token, and so you shall be sure his nose will not be rooting other mens pastures.
1631 R. Byfield Doctr. Sabbath Vindicated 100 He intended to pegge or ring an hog.
1681 S. Colvil Mock Poem i. 87 His Majesty, without all doubt, Should only Ring them in the Snout.
1692 in G. Sheldon Hist. Deerfield, Mass. (1895) I. 267 The hogg ringers shall have 6d p[e]r head for every hog tha[y] ring.
1708 in G. Sheldon Hist. Deerfield, Mass. (1895) I. 363 Any that shall neglect to ring their own swine, thay shall be forthwith rung by ye hog ringer.
1755 World No. 150 The wife, when she found she was to be rung, very wisely made a virtue of necessity, and added jewels to the ring.
1775 W. Marshall Minutes Agric. 6 Feb. (1778) Rung the riotous ox.
1792 J. Belknap Hist. New-Hampsh. III. 145 During the summer, they [sc. swine] are either fed on the waste of the dairy and kitchen, or ringed and turned into fields of clover.
c1800 A. Boswell Poet. Wks. (1871) 202 Then let the viper hide his sting, The reptile, if he ramp, we'll ring.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm III. 829 A useful instrument for leading a bull by occasionally, when he has not been ringed,..is what is named the bullock-holder.
1890 J. Amphlett Hist. Clent 105 Pigs were numerous; their owners had to ring them when four months old.
1921 I. Hamilton Soul & Body of Army iv. 64 He makes better money than the village blacksmith who is ready to mend a baby's pram, ring a bull, shoe a horse.
1978 A. B. Appleby Famine in Tudor & Stuart Eng. iii. 43 Everywhere, they [sc. swine] had to be ringed to prevent their rooting and destroying grain crops.
2003 S.-L. Parks Getting Mother's Body 108 Dill..taught me..why not to ring the boars cause they might hurt the females when they mate.
†b. transitive. To attach rings to (a mare) so as to prevent her from being covered by a stallion. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > [verb (transitive)] > breed horses > prevent covering
ring1611
ringle1676
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Boucler,..to ring a mare, thereby to keepe her from the horse.
1659 Public Intelligencer No. 182. 524 (advt.) Lost... A Grey mare about Fourteen handful high... She hath been rung, but the rings are now taken out; she paces and is about seven or eight years old.
1668 London Gaz. No. 303/4 A little Bay Mare.., short tailed and ringed, part of the rings broken.
1693 T. Urquhart & P. A. Motteux tr. F. Rabelais 3rd Bk. Wks. xxxvi. 300 They use to ring Mares.., to keep them from being sallied by Stoned Horses.
1712 London Gaz. No. 5056/3 A bright bay Mare,..Ring'd, but lost one, so that she has but two.
c. transitive. Chiefly Ornithology. To place a ring (ring n.1 3f) on the leg of (a bird) or the wing of (a bat), to enable it to be identified subsequently; = band v.1 2c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > zoology > study of specific types of animal > [verb (transitive)] > mark a bird as identification
ring1899
wing-tag1953
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or breeding other animals > [verb (transitive)] > ring bats
ring1958
1899 Ibis 5 26 Miss Hamond ringed 44 young Sterna fluviatilis at the same place with rings inscribed ‘1898’.
1925 E. L. Turner & R. Gurney Bk. about Birds vii. 72 He was able to tell those who ringed the bird that it had been found in Omdurman.
1958 Listener 30 Oct. 684/2 We have now ringed nearly 3,000 bats.
1978 P. Conder RSPB Guide to Birdwatching 102 Many ringers, particularly those working on a population of a particular area, ring nestlings.
2001 H. Bauer & V. Westhead tr. P. Berthold Bird Migration 24 Recoveries of birds ringed as nestlings are, however, of special significance.
2.
a. transitive. To put a ring on or in (a part of the body). Cf. ringed adj. 3b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > jewellery > ring > ring(s) [verb (transitive)] > adorn with ring(s)
ring1552
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > jewellery > nose and lip ornaments > [verb (transitive)] > adorn with nose-ring
ring1665
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Rynge, or put on a rynge, Anulo.
1609 W. M. Man in Moone sig. D4v His gloues are thrust vnder his girdle, that you may see how he rings his fingers, blesse his worship.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iii. iv. 31 I will..ring these fingers with thy houshold wormes. View more context for this quotation
1665 T. Herbert Some Years Trav. (new ed.) 337 Supposing them most courtly who..ring their snouts with Jewels of Silver, Brass, or Ivory.
1780 Jrnl. Assembly State N.Y. 117 A Law laying a large Fine on the Owners of Hogs running at large, without having their Noses ringed or slit.
1794 Politics for People I. 2 Those who would wish to ring our Noses in order to prevent us from grubbing after Truth.
1834 Metropolitan July 67 He informs the Lord that the man of patience is a pig,..and actually tells the Omnipotent to ring his snout.
1890 ‘M. Field’ Tragic Mary v. vii. 256 At least I catch your hand and kiss Where Grange has kissed the finger that I ringed.
1927 I. Jones in Amer. Mercury Jan. 23/1 It was in August when China Boy went up to ring the nose of the little black bull that he saw the ground was parched.
1992 J. O'Brien Working Flow 26 I think of the young girl Who..Ringed her finger as your bride.
2003 S.-L. Parks Getting Mother's Body 108 Dill..taught me how to ring they noses.
†b. transitive. To give an engagement or wedding ring to (a woman) . Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > betrothal and/or marriage > betroth and or or marry [verb (transitive)] > invest with engagement or wedding ring
ring1823
1823 New Monthly Mag. 8 496 I'll set about a lusty courtship of her at once, and if I do not ferk you out of all likelihood of ringing the beauty, why mandamus me!
1859 E. Capern Ballads & Songs (new ed.) 66 The bridegroom..Waits with the pledge of married love To ring the peerless bride.
1899 M. Hewlett Pan & Young Shepherd (ed. 2) i. v. 57 She's his woman! He's ringed her!
3. transitive. To provide (a wheel) with an iron tyre; to secure the rim of (a wheel). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > move on wheels [verb (transitive)] > furnish with tyres
fetter?1523
ring1794
tire1891
tyre1909
1794 J. Holt Gen. View Agric. Lancaster 55 Wringing a pair of wheels..£1. 15 s.
1829 Sporting Mag. 23 388 Neither are the felloes of the wheels of several of the wagons rung with iron as ours are.
1891 G. MacDonald There & Back vii. 76 In ringing a wheel, he soon excelled; and his grandfather's smithy being the place for all kinds of blacksmith-work, Richard had learned the trade before he left.
1923 G. Sturt Wheelwright's Shop xxi. 107 The wheelwright would now go on to ring the wheel permanently.
4. transitive. To attach with a ring to something. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > working with tools or equipment > fastening > fasten [verb (transitive)] > with hoop or ring
hoopc1440
ring1838
1838 H. B. Wallace Stanley II. x. 255 It floats like the buoy which though ringed to the bottom is swayed and jarred.
1885 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche viii. xxiv. 101 From either ear, ringed to its piercèd lobe A triple jewel hung.
1936 R. H. Angier Firearm Blueing & Browning ii. v. 134 Matting brushes differ from scratch brushes in having specially long wires, not tightly bound into a centre, but assembled in tufts loosely hinged or ringed to the centre.
1990 C. R. Johnson Middle Passage (1991) vii. 144 In a sense we all were ringed to the skipper in cruel wedlock.
2005 P. Hunn Small-engine Handbk. iii. 69/1 The piston—as mated to its connecting rod, which is ringed to the crankshaft, which is meshed to the camshaft gearing—pushes spent fuel/air gases out of the now-opened exhaust.
†5. transitive. To separate or cut into annular slices or rounds. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > action of dividing or divided condition > division by cutting > divide by cutting [verb (transitive)] > cut into pieces > other
ring1839
cube1947
1839 Mag. Domest. Econ. 4 174 The onions, being cut in slices and ringed, are put into the frying-pan.
1891 Daily News 27 Aug. 3/2 Why could we not in England core, peel, ring, and dry apples in such years for a winter sale?
6. transitive. To place (a napkin) in a napkin ring.
ΚΠ
1896 W. Sharp Wives in Exile 68 Mrs Wester rose also; calmly folded and ringed her napkin.
1909 Daily Chron. 18 Aug. 4/4 You never by any chance got your own table-napkin. Mark it as you would; be-ribbon it, ring it, your distinguishing mark would be removed.
1989 L. Clarke Chymical Wedding x. 300 He ringed his napkin, scraped back the chair, made to get up.
2006 P. G. Lavelle Ghost in Turret vii. 95 They rolled and ringed their napkins, and carried their dishes to the ridged drainboard of the sink.
II. Senses primarily relating to a circular course or arrangement.Examples of senses in this Branch appear to be rare from the mid 17th cent. to the late 18th cent.
7.
a. intransitive. To form a circle or ring; to gather in a ring about, round, or around (a person or thing).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > be or become round [verb (intransitive)] > form a ring
ringa1500
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > other specific arrangements > be arranged in other specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > in a circle
ringa1500
circle1613
a1500 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Cambr.) l. 623 [c1330 Auch. Wile we aboute him] rynge And harde strokys on hym dynge.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. ccxxxvv Likewise the byllmen, & there rynged & snayled, which was a goodly syght to beholde.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene vi. Proem sig. Z3 The rest, which round about you ring..And doe adorne your Court. View more context for this quotation
a1620 M. Fotherby Atheomastix (1622) ii. xi. §5. 319 The Heauen doth wheele and ring all round about the Earth.
1814 W. Nicholson Peacock iii, in Poet. Wks. (1897) 93 Then roun' him ring, and prance.., To gar folks trow ye raise the de'il.
1850 E. B. Browning Child Asleep v We should see the spirits ringing Round thee, were the clouds away.
1891 H. R. Haggard Eric Brighteyes vi. 53 Now swords flashed out, and men ringed round Eric to guard him.
1915 R. Sawyer Primrose Ring vii. 110 With arms widespread, hand clasping hand, they ringed about the cobbler and the thorn-bush.
1974 F. L.McCurdy in H. Barrett Rhetoric People ii. 131 A people who ringed around two opponents to insure a fair fight placed a high value on fairness in other matters.
2001 B. L. Estrin Amer. Love Lyric after Auschwitz & Hiroshima viii. 213 [Wallace] Stevens's children ring round to connect shore and sea.
b. intransitive. Of a stag, fox, or hare: to take a circular course when hunted. Cf. earlier ringing adj.2 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animals hunted > [verb (intransitive)] > make detour or other movement when hunted
rusec1425
ring1832
1832 [implied in: New Sporting Mag. Feb. 287/1 Sharnbrook. Fifty minutes with a ringing fox: ran to ground. (at ringing adj.2 1)].
1882 Daily News 21 Jan. 2/4 Then ringing about in the Winkfield, New Lodge, Fifield, and Bray districts, the quarry eventually fielded the pack towards the town of Maidenhead.
1892 Field 26 Nov. 805/3 Once more she tries to ring away to her home, but hounds press her.
1920 [implied in: J. Mackillop in J. Mackillop et al. Lett. to Young Sportsmen on Hunting, Angling & Shooting iii. 18 On bad scenting days and with ringing foxes they see all there is to see.].
c. intransitive. Australian, New Zealand, and South African. Of cattle, etc.: to move in a circle, esp. around others in the middle; to mill. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > bos taurus or ox > [verb (intransitive)] > mill around
ring1868
mill1888
1868 [implied in: C. W. Browne Overlanding in Austral. 77 After an hour's amusement of this sort, they stop of their own accord. This evolution is termed ‘ringing’. (at ringing n.2 5)].
c1875 G. L. Meredith Adventuring in Maoriland (1935) 66 It was risky swimming them over the rivers. If the cattle fail to make for the opposite bank the leaders may turn back and start ‘ringing’ in midstream, the cattle in the middle of the ring being forced under water and drowned.
1888 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms v After ‘ringing’ a bit, one of the quiet cows followed up the old mare.
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer II. xviii. 111 A desultory entry into the receiving yard then takes place... The ‘ragers’ observing this movement keep wildly and excitedly ‘ringing’, like a first class Maëlstrom.
1928 ‘Brent of Bin Bin’ Up Country x. 172 ‘Well, are you going to stay?’ ‘Can't, thank you. Our mob was ringing a bit when I left.’
1947 J. Stevenson-Hamilton Wild Life S. Afr. x. 72 The [buffalo] herds ring to protect themselves against marauders in much the same way as the herds of domestic cattle do.
1967 M. Sellars Carramar 37 A ringer..is the drover's man who musters the cattle, and keeps them ringing in a circle.
1975 L. A. Pockley Handbk. for Jackeroos 65 Use may be made of the natural tendency of sheep particularly young sheep, to ‘ring’ or circle around the mob.
d. intransitive. Of a bird: to rise spirally in flight. Also with up.In quot. 1877 with a play on sense 11.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > flight > [verb (intransitive)] > in specific way
planec1450
flag1590
tower1594
ring1859
coast1904
helicopter1926
1859 G. E. Freeman & F. H. Salvin Falconry iii. 44 Ring. To rise spirally—said of either long-winged hawk or quarry.
1877 G. M. Hopkins Poems (1967) 69 How he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing In his ecstasy.
1889 Pall Mall Gaz. 20 Aug. 3/2 When flown at a rook, both birds at times ‘ring’ into the sky, the rook striving its utmost to keep above its pursuer.
1967 J. A. Baker Peregrine iii. 72 Lariats of starlings..ringed up in pursuit, and he [sc. a hawk] dipped neatly beneath them.
8.
a. transitive. To be in a position or arrangement surrounding (something), to encompass, encircle. Also with round, around, about. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surrounding > surround or lie around [verb (transitive)]
befong971
beclipc1000
begoc1000
belieOE
bestandc1000
to go about ——OE
umbegangc1200
behema1250
befallc1275
berunc1275
girdc1290
bihalvena1300
umlapa1300
umlaya1300
umlouka1300
umbegoc1300
belayc1320
halsea1340
enclose1340
umbelapa1350
embracec1360
betrendc1374
circlec1374
umbecasta1375
to give about1382
environa1393
umbeclipa1395
compassa1400
encircle?a1400
enourle?a1400
umbegivea1400
umbeseta1400
umbeliec1400
umbetighc1400
enroundc1420
measurec1425
umbsteadc1450
adviron?1473
purprise1481
umbeviron1489
belta1500
girtha1500
overgirda1500
engirt15..
envirea1513
round?a1513
brace1513
umbereach1513
becompass1520
circuea1533
girtc1540
umbsetc1540
circule1553
encompass1555
circulate?a1560
ingyre1568
to do about1571
engird1573
circumdate1578
succinge1578
employ1579
circuate1581
girdle1582
wheel1582
circumgyre1583
enring1589
ringa1592
embail1593
enfold1596
invier1596
stem1596
circumcingle1599
ingert1599
engirdle1602
circulize1603
circumscribe1605
begirt1608
to go round1610
enwheela1616
surround1616
shingle1621
encirculize1624
circumviron1632
beround1643
orba1644
circumference1646
becircle1648
incircuitc1650
circumcinge1657
circumtend1684
besiege1686
cincture1789
zone1795
cravat1814
encincture1820
circumvent1824
begirdle1837
perambulate1863
cordon1891
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surrounding > surround or lie around [verb (transitive)] > as people
bitrumc1000
environc1384
compass1388
encompass1555
ringa1592
enclose1611
gird1671
envelop1683
a1592 R. Greene Frier Bacon (1594) sig. B2v The brazen walles framde by Semiramis..Shall not be such as rings the English strond.
1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge ii. ii. sig. Dv True praise, the brow of common men doth ring.
1610 J. Davies Commend. Poems in Wks. (Grosart) II. 5/1 King Arthurs..dayes (Whose radiant Knights did Ring his Table round).
1849 M. Arnold Strayed Reveller, & Other Poems 31 Round his green harvest-plot, Flow the cool lake-waves, The mountains ring them.
1850 E. Elliott in Westm. & Foreign Q. Rev. Apr. 67/1 Oh, can July with woodbines ring her fingers, And crown with roses her too regal head!
1854 F. W. Shelton Crystalline 62 The place of the encampment was an island, and the water ringed it about as if with the coil of a snake.
1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan i. 29 A girdle of mist will ring the slopes, While the heights rise clear in the upper air.
1922 H. M. Rideout Winter Bell ii. 17 The heath..dazzled him as the early morning sunshine poured across. But this was nothing to the glory that ringed it about, far and near.
1930 M. H. Vorse Strike! (1991) ii. ix. 80 The town itself sloped down a side hill toward the water. Mountains ringed it around.
1960 J. V. L. Casserley Christian Community v. 121 A discontent with the protestant systems and with the way in which they ringed round and hedged in the basic Reformation protest with a narrowing and circumscribing wall of negation.
2008 S. Mootoo in L. Allen-Agostini & J. Mason Trinidad Noir i. 58 Gold laced her neck..,dangled from her ears, ringed her fingers and both forearms wrist to elbow.
b. transitive. In passive. To be surrounded or girt with something; to be encircled by something. Also with round, around, about.
ΚΠ
a1592 R. Greene Frier Bacon (1594) sig. Cv Monarks of the West, Ringd with the wals of old Oceanus.
1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge i. iii. sig. B3 The verge of heauen Was ringd with flames.
a1643 W. Cartwright Lady-errant iii. ii, in Comedies (1651) sig. c4 She Sais She could Court you ring'd about with Dangers.
1710 A. Hill Full Acct. Ottoman Empire (ed. 2) xvii. 130 Frequently the Columns [are] ring'd about with a continued Piece of twining Carv'd-Work of that very Marble.
1796 M. G. Lewis Monk III. xi. 255 Often have I at waking found my fingers ringed with the long worms which bred in the corrupted flesh of my infant.
1829 Edinb. Lit. Jrnl. 14 Feb. 196/1 Pool after pool ringed by night insects.
1839 Fraser's Mag. Feb. 217 He worships with devotion, ringed around With such a train of body guards.
1850 J. S. Blackie tr. Æschylus Lyrical Dramas I. 23 At her father's festive board, With gallant banqueters ringed cheerly round.
1878 R. L. Stevenson Inland Voy. 84 Even this place..might on some future day be ringed about with cannon smoke and thunder.
1910 J. Buchan Prester John i. 7 The bay itself is ringed with fine clean sands, where we lads of the burgh school loved to bathe in the warm weather.
1920 A. Guiterman Ballads Old N.Y. 157 New horror froze the cutthroat band; For, as the phantom closer came, Her ghostly captain waved his hand—And Dunderberg was ringed with flame!
1941 E. C. Jaeger Desert Wild Flowers (rev. ed.) 9 The black, hairy gland on each petal is ringed about by vermilion.
1963 P. Vellacott tr. Euripides Medea & Other Plays 63 My father, when Troy was ringed round with Hellene spears,..smuggled me away To Thrace.
2000 W. T. Vollmann Royal Family (2001) ii. xxxviii. 58 Red bus-lights glared, ringed around with mist like the moon in some old almanac.
c. transitive. In passive. To be hemmed or shut in. Usually with by, with.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > enclosing or enclosure > enclosing or confining > enclose or confine [verb (transitive)]
pena1200
bebar?c1225
loukc1275
beshuta1300
parc1300
to shut in1398
to close inc1400
parrockc1400
pinc1400
steekc1400
lock?a1425
includec1425
key?a1439
spare?c1450
enferme1481
terminea1500
bebay1511
imprisona1533
besetc1534
hema1552
ram1567
warda1586
closet1589
pound1589
seclude1598
confine1600
i-pend1600
uptie1600
pinfold1605
boundify1606
incoop1608
to round in1609
ring1613
to buckle ina1616
embounda1616
swathe1624
hain1636
coopa1660
to sheathe up1661
stivea1722
cloister1723
span1844
1613 W. B. tr. S. Michaelis Admirable Hist. Penitent Woman 384 Shee..vpon the sudden found her selfe circled & ringed in by a troope of Diuels, who all perswaded her to returne vnto them.
1840 R. Bremner Excursions Denmark I. ii. 28 Its uplands form a kind of horse-shoe, ringed in by heights of the most beautiful outline.
1861 Littell's Living Age 1 June 540/2 Ringed in with gathering growls..See Britain's bull-dog stand.
1871 Pall Mall Gaz. 7 Feb. 12 The final campaign in Baden, when the revolt was ringed in and stamped out by the converging advance of the Prussians.
1885 H. R. Haggard King Solomon's Mines vii This expanse appeared to be ringed in by a wall of distant mountains.
a1918 W. Campbell Poet. Wks. (1922) 319 Far before us lay..a bright blue lapping bay, Ringed in by wood-crowned crags.
1941 H. Fast Last Frontier vii. 189 A people..harried by great forces, ringed in and driven like wild beasts.
1967 A. Djoleto Strange Man (1968) xi. 178 There was an extensive playfield which was ringed in by a tall hedge of fine, sturdy evergreen plants.
2001 G. Bickley Hong Kong Invaded! 58 The remains of Hush and Fairey's companies, in knots of five or six, were fighting with clubbed muskets,..ringed in with white-capped, green-coated swarms.
d. transitive. To hem in (cattle or game) by riding or beating in a circle round them; to beat or stalk round (a stretch of country) for game. Also (Australian): to cause (cattle, etc.) to move in a circle, esp. round others in the middle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunt [verb (transitive)] > surround
ring1835
circumvent1837
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping of cattle > [verb (transitive)] > herd cattle
punch1859
bull-whack1869
night-herd1885
rally1888
to ride herd on (also over)1895
point1903
ring1935
1835 W. Irving Tour on Prairies xxv To..try our hand at the grand hunting manœuvre, which is called ringing the wild horse.
1874 W. H. L. Ranken Dominion Austral. vi. 111 They are generally ‘ringed’, that is, their gallop is directed into a circular course by the men surrounding them.
1893 Blackwood's Mag. 279 There are bears to be ringed and elks to be stalked.
1893 Blackwood's Mag. 280 Orders arrive to enlist a force of beaters which will ‘ring’ a vast extent of country.
1907 Bulletin (Sydney) 11 Apr. 15/3 I collared the spare night-horse and lit out to the old man's assistance. He had the lead blocked on the edge of the scrub when I came up, and was ringing 'em finely.
1919 Bulletin (Sydney) 17 July 22/3 ‘Steve Hart’ asked..whether a dog ‘on the wing’ or ringing a mob of sheep, should turn out or in when coming back.
1935 A. Francis Then & Now 68 All the men..had been..‘ringing’ the cattle—that is, making the outside beasts move slowly round and round, keeping the bull as nearly as possible in the centre so as not to arouse his suspicions.
1957 R. S. Porteous Brigalow 8 Albert..quite often turning the entire mob about-face. At other times he achieved the highly undesirable effect of ringing them and we would find ourselves with a milling, bewildered herd.
2004 R. Fox Participant Observer i. i. 22 The men, boys and dogs ringed the decreasing patch of hay in an ever-tightening circle until the rabbits burst out in all directions.
e. transitive. To move around (something) in a circle; to travel a circular route around.
ΚΠ
1893 W. W. Thomas Sweden & Swedes xxix. 330 Any dog that ‘rings’ game, or from any cause breaks his point to take up another, may be trained to report.
1895 R. Kipling Second Jungle Bk. 73 They ringed the old man as a school of porpoises ring a steamer at full speed, and as they ringed him they talked unconcernedly.
1982 Agric. Gloss. (N.Z. Ministry Agric. & Fisheries) 25 Ringing Sheep, fault in a dog where it goes in a complete circle around the sheep and comes back to the handler. It fails to stop after its out-run, halfway around the sheep, and directly opposite the handler.
1990 R. Herman Fusion (1991) ii. 46 Sputnik ringed the earth, passing over the United States seven times a day.
2007 N. Gingrich & W. R. Forstchen Pearl Harbor 146 Pan American was boasting how they would ring the entire world with their huge four-engine ‘Clippers’.
9.
†a. transitive. To mark (trees) with a ring of colour. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > [verb (transitive)] > mark tree
ring1690
spot1740
blaze1750
1690 in G. Redmond Names & Hist. (2004) 216 Marked and ringed about for standing.
1742 MS. Agreement (co. Derby) Trees marked or rung about with red.
1766 in G. Redmond Names & Hist. (2004) 216 Rung about with red paint.
b. transitive. = ringbark v. 1 Cf. girdle v. 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > [verb (transitive)] > remove ring of bark
girdle1662
ring1800
belt1812
ringbark1823
1800 J. Headrick in Communications to Board of Agric. II. 257 They begin with ringing the trees, that is, cutting a ring of bark from their stems a little above the ground. This checks their growth, and renders the wood more firm and valuable.
1836 Amer. Gardener's Mag. June 226 If a branch is ringed too close to its base..it is in danger of being beaten down by the wind, or broken by the weight of fruit.
1857 A. Henfrey Elem. Course Bot. 562 Ringing fruit-trees in this way causes a temporary increase of product of fruit above the wound.
1885 R. C. Praed Head Station i Gaunt trunks of trees which had been ‘rung’, and allowed to die slowly.
1925 W. H. Chandler Fruit Growing 40 An Elberta peach tree was ringed close to the ground on June 5, 1911.
1990 J. Vansina Paths Rainforests 60 Ringing trees and burning them rather than cutting them down with an axe was the most efficient technique to clear land.
2005 W. M. Gear & K. N. Gear People Moon 47 The first farmers had denuded portions of the mesa top, ringing trees to kill them and then burning to clear fields.
c. transitive. English regional. To dig a trench around (a fruit tree), in order to trim its roots and control its vegetative growth. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > cultivation of fruit > cultivate fruit [verb (transitive)] > other techniques
caprifyc1420
cross-hack1608
string1664
ring1881
thread1907
1881 Oxfordsh. Gloss. Suppl. at Ring To ring fruit trees is to dig round them, cutting the long roots in two, and putting in manure.
10.
a. transitive. To place, position, or fasten round (also around, about) something in the form of a ring or circle. Also reflexive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surrounding > surround or lie around [verb (transitive)] > place around
brace1513
circumpose1578
ring1799
1799 R. Southey Pig in Morning Post & Gazetteer 24 May 2/4 Amoretta's hair Rings round her lover's soul the chains of love.
1827 Atheneum: Spirit of Eng. Mags. 15 May 146/2 An earthworm had ringed itself around one of the child's fingers.
1850 E. B. Browning tr. Æschylus Prometheus Bound (rev. ed.) in Poems (new ed.) I. 143 Ring amain the iron round his legs!
1891 J. H. Tuttle Field & Fruit i. 89 The oak of a hundred years has all the earlier growths still ringed about its heart.
1925 K. Norris Little Ships iii. 35 Her chestnut hair..ringed itself about her low white forehead in little feathers and sprays.
1932 A. I. Richards Hunger & Work in Savage Tribe iii. 45 In daily life the segregation of all women and children is fairly complete, especially in the case of the wives of a polygamous household each in their separate huts ringed round the kraal.
1996 C. Price in J. Dally & G. Kemp Friendly Street Reader Number Twenty 110 Get some fresh manure, and ring it 'round the coals.
2007 O. Orakwue Corrupted Ambition xx. 184 He felt the coldness of the copper wire as the men ringed it around his ankle and his left wrist.
†b. transitive (reflexive). To coil up in a ring. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > reptiles > order Squamata (lizards and snakes) > suborder Ophidia (snakes) > [verb (reflexive)] > coil up
ring1864
1864 J. C. Atkinson Stanton Grange 219 I seed a grass-snake..come out, and ring itself up i' t' sun.
c. transitive. Quoits. To throw (a quoit) so that it completely encircles the upright peg.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > quoits > play at quoits [verb (transitive)] > throw (quoit) on to hob
ring1866
1866 Chambers's Encycl. VIII. 68/2 Professional players..can very frequently ‘ring’ their quoit—that is, land it so that the quoit surrounds the hob.
1917 E. Hermann Outl. Physical Educ. for Primary & Gram. Schools, Junior High & High Schools 78 All teams count one point for every fairly ‘ringed’ quoit.
11. transitive. To make (a horse) go in circles using a lunge. Now rare.Quot. 1926 refers to quot. 1877 at sense 7d.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > [verb (transitive)] > break a horse > by specific method
lunge1806
kinch1808
ring1814
Rarey1859
Rareyfy1892
Galvayne1905
1814 A. T. Blayney Narr. Forced Journey through Spain & France viii. 119 The corn is placed on a paved circular spot, round which two mares are driven, as we ring horses, and who tread out the corn.
1834 M. Edgeworth Helen I. vi. 119 She caught a glimpse through the glass door opening on the park, of the General, and a fine horse they were ringing.
1860 R. F. Burton Lake Regions Central Afr. I. x. 243 Sometimes a sturdy fellow ‘renowns it’ by carrying his huge burden round and round, like a horse being ringed.
1926 I. A. Richards in G. Roberts G. M. Hopkins: Crit. Heritage (1996) 143 Rung upon the rein—a term from the manège, ringing a horse = causing it to circle round one on a long rein.
12. transitive. To draw a circle round (usually something printed) so as to focus attention on it. Also with round.
ΚΠ
1947 N. Collins Dulcimer Street lxv. 472 The calendar on the Home Secretary's desk had the day after tomorrow conspicuously ringed round in red.
1966 Times 18 Feb. 12/2 He showed that he must be counted among the many party generals who have provisionally ringed the date of March 31 on their calendars and in their diaries.
1990 Hist. Jrnl. 33 783 Upon the original of du Fargis' memo, a nineteenth-century patriotic pencil has ringed the word ‘domestique’.
2005 A. Quinn in R. Loosmore & C. Matthews Sexy Shorts for Lovers 71 Smiling, she ringed the date in red biro.

Phrases

P1. transitive. Chiefly Scottish. to ring the mill: to allow the first grain that is ground to fall round the millstone.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation of grain > milling or grinding > grind corn [verb (intransitive)] > other grinding practices
to ring the mill1789
1789 Philorth Baron Court Bk. (MS V) 86 in Sc. National Dict. at Ring [He] thought it proper to take his sack of shillen off the Crubs till such time as the Tails were ready to ring the mill.
1808 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. (at cited word) To fill these [crevices round the mill-stone] with the first grain that is ground, after the stones are picked, is called ringing the mill.
1814 Abstract conc. Mill Inveramsy in J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. (1825) (at cited word) The tenants ringing the mill to themselves, and carrying away the same ring with them.
2004 J. Langdon Mills in Medieval Econ. vi. 245 There were also more complicated methods for pirating grain, such as the ruse known in more modern times as ‘ringing the mill’. This was the practice of creating gaps in the millstone wooden casing in order to let grain or meal drop down into the hidden cranny, where ir could be retrieved by the miller at the end of the day.
P2.
a. ringing the bull: a game in which participants throw or swing a ring on to a hook fixed on a wall or a target.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > quoits > games resembling quoits > [noun]
penny-prick1421
penny-stone?c1475
loggat1541
ringing the bull1815
bull1863
ring toss1870
ringoal1887
rings1906
jukskei1942
cornhole game2002
1815 W. Wheeler Let. 26 Aug. (1952) 212 Here are likewise all kinds of amusement, viz. skittles, four corners, the Devil among the tailors, ringing the bull, [etc.].
1838 D. Jerrold Men of Char. (1851) 276 There is first the lucky-bag—then the sticks—then the ringing-the-bull—then the round-about.
1941 H. W. Freeman His Own Place i. 15 There were games such as bowls or ‘ringing the bull’, at which he was an adept.
2006 W. Fotheringham Fotheringham's Extraordinary Sporting Pastimes 24 Ringing the Bull, like many English pub games, dates back to the Middle Ages.
b. to ring the bull: to play the game of ringing the bull (see Phrases 2a). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > quoits > games resembling quoits > play game [verb (intransitive)]
to ring the bull1838
1838 D. Jerrold Men of Char. II. xviii. 305 After that, he must visit the gypsies; then he must ring-the-bull.
1862 R. W. Procter Our Turf, our Stage, & our Ring i. 20 I did not choose to ring the bull, or prick the garter;—to shake with dice at over and under, or toy with a pea in a labyrinth of thimbles.
1919 C. Guha Mod. Anglo-Bengali Dict. (2007) 1829/3 To ring the bull.
c. ring the bull = ringing the bull at Phrases 2a.
ΚΠ
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby l. 494 These would be hanging on the outskirts of a wide circle of people assembled round some itinerant juggler, opposed in his turn by a noisy band of music, or the classic game of ‘Ring the Bull’.
1868 Notes & Queries 4th Ser. 1 89 The game..is or was common in the ale-houses of Cheshire, and is called Ring-the-Bull.
1989 A. Aird 1990 Good Pub Guide 26 The public bar has darts, cribbage, dominoes, ring the bull and trivia.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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