rhubarb

Pronunciation




Etymology 1
From, from (modern 🇨🇬), from , , , , probably from , from  + , neuter of  (English ).

There is also a 🇨🇬 variant, which appears to be influenced by , and gave rise to some of the forms in modern languages. The Ancient Greek variant term appears to have been folk-etymologically influenced by, which is in the region from which the plant came to the Mediterranean. The ultimate origin of the Ancient Greek terms is, however, 🇨🇬.

The word is cognate with 🇨🇬, 🇨🇬, 🇨🇬, 🇨🇬, 🇨🇬, 🇨🇬, 🇨🇬.

Noun

 * 1) Any plant of the genus, especially , having large leaves and long green or reddish acidic leafstalks that are edible, in particular when cooked (although the leaves are mildly poisonous).
 * 2)  The leafstalks of common rhubarb or garden rhubarb (usually known as Rheum × hybridum), which are long, fleshy, often pale red, and with a tart taste, used as a food ingredient; they are frequently stewed with sugar and made into jam or used in crumbles, pies, etc.
 * 3) The dried rhizome and roots of  (Chinese rhubarb) or  (Tibetan rhubarb), from China, used as a laxative and purgative.
 * 4)   operations by aircraft (fighters and fighter-bombers) involving low-level flight to seek opportunistic targets.
 * 5)  A ditch alongside a road or highway.
 * 1)  The leafstalks of common rhubarb or garden rhubarb (usually known as Rheum × hybridum), which are long, fleshy, often pale red, and with a tart taste, used as a food ingredient; they are frequently stewed with sugar and made into jam or used in crumbles, pies, etc.
 * 2) The dried rhizome and roots of  (Chinese rhubarb) or  (Tibetan rhubarb), from China, used as a laxative and purgative.
 * 3)   operations by aircraft (fighters and fighter-bombers) involving low-level flight to seek opportunistic targets.
 * 4)  A ditch alongside a road or highway.
 * 1)   operations by aircraft (fighters and fighter-bombers) involving low-level flight to seek opportunistic targets.
 * 2)  A ditch alongside a road or highway.
 * 1)   operations by aircraft (fighters and fighter-bombers) involving low-level flight to seek opportunistic targets.
 * 2)  A ditch alongside a road or highway.
 * 1)  A ditch alongside a road or highway.
 * 1)  A ditch alongside a road or highway.

Translations

 * Afrikaans: rabarber
 * Arabic: رَاوَنْد
 * Armenian:
 * Belarusian: рэвень
 * Breton: rubarbez
 * Bulgarian: ревен
 * Catalan: ruibarbre
 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin:
 * Cornish: trenkles
 * Czech:
 * Danish: rabarber
 * Dutch:
 * Esperanto: rabarbo, reumo
 * Faroese: rabarba
 * Finnish:
 * French:
 * Galician:
 * German:
 * Greek:
 * Ancient: ῥῆον
 * Greenlandic: rabarberi
 * Hungarian:
 * Icelandic: rabarbari
 * Irish: biabhóg
 * Italian:
 * Japanese: ルバーブ,
 * Kazakh: рауғаш
 * Korean:
 * Kurdish:
 * Central Kurdish: ڕێواس
 * Kyrgyz:
 * Latvian: rabarbers
 * Macedonian: ревен, рамен
 * Malay: rubarb, rawand ; kelembak ;
 * Maltese: rubarb
 * Maori: rūpapa
 * Navajo: jiłtʼoʼí
 * Northern Sami: rabárber
 * Norwegian:
 * Bokmål: rabarbra
 * Nynorsk: rabarbra
 * Ottoman Turkish: راوند
 * Persian: ,
 * Plautdietsch: Ruboaba
 * Polish:, rzewień
 * Portuguese:
 * Punjabi: ਰਿਓਂਦ
 * Romanian: ,
 * Romansch: rabarber
 * Russian:
 * Slovak: rebarbora
 * Slovene:
 * Spanish: ruibarbo
 * Swedish:
 * Tagalog: ruwibarbo
 * Tibetan: ཆུ་ཆུ, ཕྱུར་ཕྱུར
 * Turkish:
 * Ukrainian: реві́нь
 * Vietnamese: đại hoàng
 * Volapük: rabarbaplan
 * Walloon:
 * Welsh: riwbob
 * Yiddish: ראַבאַרבער
 * Zazaki: kap
 * Zulu: irubhabhu

Adjective

 * 1) Of the colour of rhubarb: either brownish-yellow (the colour of rhubarb rhizomes and roots used for medicinal purposes), or pale red (often the colour of the leafstalks of common rhubarb).

Verb

 * 1)  Of fighter aircraft: to fire at a target opportunistically.

Etymology 2
Attributed to the practice by the theatre company of English actor  (1811–1868) at the Princess’s Theatre, London, of actors saying the word rhubarb repetitively to mimic the sound of indistinct conversation, the word having been chosen because it does not have harsh-sounding consonants or clear vowels.

The baseball senses are said to have been coined by the American sports writer Garry Schumacher and popularized by the American baseball commentator (1908–1992). Barber also claimed to have started using the word in the 1940s, based on the practice in “early radio dramas” (presumably in the US, ) of actors repetitively voicing rhubarb. However, unlike the UK usage, he felt the practice applied to muttering by an angry mob, and so applied the word to arguments on the baseball field where he could not distinguish the words.

Noun

 * 1)  General background noise caused by several simultaneous indecipherable conversations, which is created in films, stage plays, etc., by actors repeating the word rhubarb; hence, such noise in other settings.
 * 2)  Nonsense; false utterance.
 * 3)  An excited, angry exchange of words, especially at a sporting event.
 * 4)  A brawl.
 * 1)  An excited, angry exchange of words, especially at a sporting event.
 * 2)  A brawl.
 * 1)  An excited, angry exchange of words, especially at a sporting event.
 * 2)  A brawl.
 * 1)  A brawl.
 * 1)  A brawl.
 * 1)  A brawl.

Verb

 * 1)  Of an actor in a film, stage play, etc.: to repeat the word rhubarb to create the sound of indistinct conversation; hence, to converse indistinctly, to mumble.
 * 2)  To articulate indistinctly or mumble (words or phrases); to say inconsequential or vague things because one does not know what to say, or to stall for time.
 * 1)  To articulate indistinctly or mumble (words or phrases); to say inconsequential or vague things because one does not know what to say, or to stall for time.
 * 1)  To articulate indistinctly or mumble (words or phrases); to say inconsequential or vague things because one does not know what to say, or to stall for time.
 * 1)  To articulate indistinctly or mumble (words or phrases); to say inconsequential or vague things because one does not know what to say, or to stall for time.
 * 1)  To articulate indistinctly or mumble (words or phrases); to say inconsequential or vague things because one does not know what to say, or to stall for time.
 * 1)  To articulate indistinctly or mumble (words or phrases); to say inconsequential or vague things because one does not know what to say, or to stall for time.
 * 1)  To articulate indistinctly or mumble (words or phrases); to say inconsequential or vague things because one does not know what to say, or to stall for time.