rope

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A strong, thick cord made of twisted fibres or wires.

   They used a thick rope to pull the boat ashore.

2. 2
   verb

   To tie or fasten something with a rope.

   He roped the bags to the roof of the car.

3. 3
   verb

   To catch an animal using a loop of rope.

   The cowboy roped the calf in seconds.

4. 4
   noun

   A number of things joined together in a long line or strand.

   She wore a rope of pearls around her neck.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Rope is an Old English word and is among the earliest English words on record, with evidence dating to about AD 725. Its long history later produced figurative expressions based on sailing, boxing, and hanging.

From Middle English rop, rope, from Old English rāp (“rope, cord, cable”), from Proto-West Germanic *raip, from Proto-Germanic *raipaz, *raipą (“rope, cord, band, ringlet”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁roypnós (“strap, band, rope”), from *h₁reyp- (“to peel off, tear; border, edge, strip”). Cognates Cognate with Scots rape, raip (“rope”), Saterland Frisian Roop (“rope”), West Frisian reap (“rope, cord”), Dutch roop, reep (“rope, cord, ring, strip, bar”), German Low German Reep (“rope”), Swedish rep (“rope”), Danish reb (“rope”), Icelandic reipi (“rope”), Albanian rrip (“belt, rope”).

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary