Ribbon

How to spell ribbon

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce ribbon

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does ribbon mean?

1. nounA long, narrow strip of fabric used for tying, decorating, or as an award.

Ribbon in a sentence

• She tied a red ribbon around the gift box.

• The winning horse wore a blue ribbon at the show.

Where does ribbon come from?

Language of origin: French

Ribbon entered English in the 1300s as 'riban' or 'riband', borrowed from the Old French 'riban' or 'ruban', meaning a narrow strip of fine fabric used for tying, trimming, or decoration. The deeper origin of the French word is genuinely uncertain; many scholars suspect a Germanic source related to a word for a band or strip, but this has never been proven. For centuries the English spelling wavered between forms like 'riband' and 'ribband', and the stray 'd' that once clung to the end is the reason the word can feel slippery to spell today. The modern settled spelling drops that 'd' entirely and doubles the 'b', giving 'ribbon', so the trap is remembering the double 'b' and resisting the urge to add a final 'd'. The same little strip of cloth gave rise to figurative uses such as a typewriter ribbon and a prize ribbon, all keeping the one fixed spelling.

How the word is built

• rib (from Old French riban, of uncertain origin)
• -bon (assimilated ending; not a true suffix)