rebus
See also: Rebus, rébus, and rebus'
English
WOTD – 11 March 2021
A rebus (sense 1) for the phrase “I understand”, represented by a picture of an eye under the word stand.
The coat of arms of Princess Beatrice, the daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. It bears a label with three bees, that is, “bees thrice”, a rebus (sense 2) alluding to her name.
Etymology
From French rébus (“rebus (puzzle); ambiguity; word used in an oblique sense; unintelligible remark”), or directly from its probable etymon Latin rēbus, the ablative plural of rēs (“object, stuff, thing; issue, matter, subject, topic”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *reh₁ís (“goods; wealth”). The connection between the English word and its Latin etymon is unclear.
further etymology
The following possibilities have been suggested, but according to the Oxford English Dictionary are problematic:[1]
- According to the French scholar Gilles Ménage (1613–1692) in Les origines de la langue françoise (The Origins of the French Language, 1650),[2] it is taken from the phrase de rebus quae geruntur (“concerning the things that are taking place”) which was used in 16th-century Picardy as the name for satirical writings on contemporary subjects containing picture-riddles that were composed for an annual carnival. However, the term rebus de Picardie is first attested later than the word rébus, and so could simply refer to rebuses popular in Picardy at the time.
- Alternatively, it could be from the phrase nōn verbīs sed rēbus meaning “not by words but by things”, but this “encounters difficulties in the chronology of the senses in French”.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: rē'bəs, IPA(key): /ˈɹiːbəs/
Audio (RP) (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɹibəs/
- Rhymes: -iːbəs
- Hyphenation: re‧bus
Noun
rebus (plural rebuses or (rare) rebusses or (hypercorrect, rare) rebi)
- An arrangement of pictures, symbols, and/or words representing phrases or words, especially as a word puzzle.
- Synonyms: rebus puzzle, dingbat
- 1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, I.i:
- I back him at a Rebus or a Charade against the best Rhymer in the Kingdom—has your Ladyship heard the Epigram he wrote last week on Lady Frizzle's Feather catching Fire—
- (specifically, heraldry) An arrangement of pictures on a coat of arms which suggests the name of the person to whom it belongs.
- 2020 March 5, Hilary Mantel, “Salvage: London, Summer 1536”, in The Mirror & the Light, London: 4th Estate, →ISBN, page 122:
- The prior [Will Bolton] used to come out here to hunt in summer and recreate himself, and his rebus—a barrel or tun shot through with a crossbow bolt—is set into the garden walls.
-
Derived terms
- rebus principle
Translations
arrangement of pictures, etc., representing phrases or words, especially as a word puzzle
|
arrangement of pictures on a coat of arms which suggests the name of the person to whom it belongs
|
See also
- visual pun
Verb
rebus (third-person singular simple present rebuses or rebusses, present participle rebusing or rebussing, simple past and past participle rebused or rebussed) (transitive, obsolete, rare)
- To represent (a phrase or word) as a rebus.
- To apply a rebus to (something).
- 1655, Thomas Fuller, “Section IV. To John Ferrars, of Tamworth Castle, Esquire.”, in James Nichols, editor, The Church History of Britain, […], volume I, new edition, London: […] [James Nichols] for Thomas Tegg and Son, […], published 1837, OCLC 913056315, book IV, subsection 34 (The Death of Archbishop Morton. A.D. 1500.), page 539:
- He [John Morton] was a learned man, and had a fair library, (rebussed with more in text and tun under it,) partly remaining in the possession of the late earl of Arundel.
-
References
- “rebus, n.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, July 2020; “rebus, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022. - Gilles Ménage (1650) Les origines de la langue françoise [The Origins of the French Language], Paris: Chez Augustin Courbé, OCLC 723687311.
Further reading
rebus on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Anagrams
- Burse, Reubs, Ruebs, Suber, Ubers, buers, bures, burse, erubs, resub, rubes, suber, urbes
Crimean Tatar
Etymology
French rébus, from Latin rebus.
Noun
rebus
- rebus.
Declension
Declension of rebus
| nominative | rebus |
|---|---|
| genitive | rebusnıñ |
| dative | rebusqa |
| accusative | rebusnı |
| locative | rebusta |
| ablative | rebustan |
References
- Mirjejev, V. A.; Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary], Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN
Danish
Noun
rebus c (singular definite rebussen, plural indefinite rebusser)
- rebus (puzzle)
Declension
Declension of rebus
| common gender | Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
| nominative | rebus | rebussen | rebusser | rebusserne |
| genitive | rebus' | rebussens | rebussers | rebussernes |
Estonian
Noun
rebus
- inessive singular of rebu
French
Verb
rebus
- first/second-person singular past historic of reboire
Participle
rebus m pl
- masculine plural of the past participle of reboire
Anagrams
- beurs
Indonesian
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Adjective
rebus
- boiled
Italian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈrɛ.bus/
- Rhymes: -ɛbus
- Hyphenation: rè‧bus
Noun
rebus m (invariable)
- rebus
- enigma
- puzzle
- conundrum
Related terms
- rebussistico
Latin
Noun
rēbus f
- dative/ablative plural of rēs (“object, thing, matter”)
References
- rebus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
Malay
Adjective
rebus (Jawi spelling ربوس)
- boiled (food)
Verb
rebus
- to boil (food)
Further reading
- “rebus” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.
Polish
Etymology
From French rébus, from Latin rebus.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈrɛ.bus/
- Rhymes: -ɛbus
- Syllabification: re‧bus
Noun
rebus m inan
- rebus
Declension
Declension of rebus
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | rebus | rebusy |
| genitive | rebusu | rebusów |
| dative | rebusowi | rebusom |
| accusative | rebus | rebusy |
| instrumental | rebusem | rebusami |
| locative | rebusie | rebusach |
| vocative | rebusie | rebusy |
Derived terms
adjective
- rebusowy
Further reading
- rebus in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- rebus in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Romanian
Etymology
From French rébus.
Noun
rebus n (plural rebusuri)
- rebus, crossword
Declension
Declension of rebus
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
| nominative/accusative | (un) rebus | rebusul | (niște) rebusuri | rebusurile |
| genitive/dative | (unui) rebus | rebusului | (unor) rebusuri | rebusurilor |
| vocative | rebusule | rebusurilor | ||
Serbo-Croatian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /rěːbus/
- Hyphenation: re‧bus
Noun
rébus m (Cyrillic spelling ре́бус)
- rebus
Declension
Declension of rebus
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | rebus | rebusi |
| genitive | rebusa | rebusa |
| dative | rebusu | rebusima |
| accusative | rebus | rebuse |
| vocative | rebuse | rebusi |
| locative | rebusu | rebusima |
| instrumental | rebusom | rebusima |
Swedish
Noun
rebus c
- a rebus; a kind of word puzzle
Declension
| Declension of rebus | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
| Nominative | rebus | rebusen | rebusar | rebusarna |
| Genitive | rebus | rebusens | rebusars | rebusarnas |
Synonyms
- bildgåta
Related terms
- rebuslösning
References
- Rebus in Svenska Akademiens ordlista öfver svenska språket (6th ed., 1889)