I apprehend also, that the wife, when she found she was to be rung, very wisely made a virtue of necessity, and added jewels to the ring. It also meant "put a ring in the nose of (swine, cattle) to keep them from rooting or violence" (1510s), and this was used figuratively in 17c.-18c. The meaning "cut out a ring of bark from (a tree) to obstruct the flow of sap" is by 1800. The meaning "move in a circle around" is from 1825. that of "adorn with rings" is from 1550s. The sense of "provide or attach a ring or rings, affix a ring to" is from late 14c. The intransitive sense of "gather in a ring" is attested by mid-15c. Compare Frisian ringje, Middle Dutch and Dutch ringen, Old High German ringan, German ringen, Old Norse hringa, hringja. 1500) from ring (n.1) and probably in part from Old English ymbhringan "surround, encircle," from the root of ring (n.1). "put a ring on" (late 14c.) "make a circle around" (c. For ring a bell "awaken a memory," see bell (n.). 1600, with transferred use (as in ring hollow) by 1610s. The specialized sense, especially in reference to coins, "give a resonant sound when struck as an indication of genuineness or purity," is by c. To ring down (or up) a theatrical curtain, "direct it to be let down" (or up) is by 1772, from the custom of signaling for it by ringing a bell hence, in a general sense "bring to a conclusion." To ring up a purchase on a cash register is by 1937, from the bell that sounds in the machine. telephoning, such as ring off "hang up," ring back "return a call," ring in "report by telephone." The verb was much used in phrases of 20c. In reference to a telephone, intransitive, by 1924 as "to call (someone) on a telephone by 1880, with up (adv.). Of the ears or head, "have a continued buzz or hum in reaction to exposure to noise," by late 14c. The intransitive sense of "give a certain resonant sound when struck" is by c. Originally a weak verb, the strong inflection began in early Middle English by influence of sing, etc. Old English hringan "cause (a bell) to sound " also "announce or celebrate by the ringing of bells," from Proto-Germanic *khrengan (source also of Old Norse hringja, Swedish ringa, Middle Dutch ringen), probably of imitative origin. This proposal of connection dates only to the late 1960s. "The belief that the rhyme originated with the Great Plague is now almost universal, but has no evidence to support it and is almost certainly nonsense". The nursery rhyme ring a ring a rosie is attested in an American form (with a different ending) from c. To run rings round (someone) "be superior to" is from 1891. Ring finger, "third finger of the left hand" (in anatomy, of either hand) is Old English hringfingr, a compound also attested in other Germanic languages it is also called ring-man (15c.). Of the annual growth bands in trees, from 1670s.įairy ring is from 1620s. The meaning "combination of persons interested in attaining some object" is from 1829, originally commercial or political, latter in reference to espionage or terrorism. a circle formed for boxers, wrestlers, and cudgel players, by a man styled Vinegar who, with his hat before his eyes, goes round the circle, striking at random with his whip to prevent the populace from crowding in". The meaning "place for prize fight and wrestling bouts" (early 14c.) is from the space in a circle of bystanders in the midst of which such contests once were held, ". The sense of "a number of things arranged in a circle" is by 1580s. Other Old English senses were "circular group of persons" (birds, actually), also "horizon." In Old and Middle English also "a bracelet, armlet." As a token of marriage, betrothal, chastity, etc., by c. Old English hring "circlet of metal, especially one of a precious metal for wearing on the finger ornamentally, also a part of a mail coat anything circular," from Proto-Germanic *hringaz "something curved, circle" (source also of Old Norse hringr, Old Frisian hring, Danish, Swedish, Dutch ring, Old High German hring, German Ring), from nasalized form of PIE root *sker- (2) "to turn, bend."
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