ribletn.
/ˈrɪblᵻt/, U.S. /ˈrɪblᵻt/ A small rib (in various senses); spec. any one of a set on the outer surface of a boat, aircraft, etc., used to reduce drag.
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the world > space > shape > unevenness > projection or prominence > corrugation > [noun] > a corrugation > ridge
ridge?a1450
welt1599
wheal1855
riblet1887
the world > plants > part of plant > part defined by form or function > ridge channel > [noun]
wrinkle1545
crest1597
ruga1683
tubea1704
furrow1725
flute1728
stria1731
rib1740
carina1774
striolet1826
vallecula1856
channel1875
carination1880
rumination1889
striola1903
riblet1949
1806 J. Simpson Compl. Syst. Cookery 174 (table) Mutton Cutlets, riblet.
1821 Edinb. Philos. Jrnl. 5 87 The transverse processes of the vertebræ in the two animals differ in relative size and form, as do also the costulæ or riblets that spring from them.
1887 Geol. Mag. 4 451 The surface has longitudinal ridges which..are connected by transverse riblets.
1949 M. Mead Male & Female xviii. 375 In ancient Samoa, the women made lovely bark-cloth, pressing out the fluctuating, beautifully soft lines against mats on which the pattern was sewed in coconut-leaf riblets.
1962 Aeroplane 23 Aug. 24/3 To this metal structure are attached the glass-fibre leading- and trailing-edge units. The former is in one piece from tip to engine nacelle and contains 11 glass-fibre riblets.
1975 Nature 16 Oct. 577/2 It [sc. a fossil bivalve of genus Neoschizodus] is closely related to the widely distributed N. laevigatus (Ziethen) of Lower to Middle Triassic age, but differs in having a radial riblet on the posterior area.
2003 Sci. Amer. Oct. 40/2 This technology might find use..as a mechanism for making ‘riblets’ that improve the aerodynamic drag characteristic of airplane wings.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1806