See riff in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for riff meaning in English (13.1kB)
{
"etymology_number": 1,
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{
"args": {
"1": "en"
},
"expansion": "Uncertain",
"name": "unc"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "riffle",
"nocap": "1"
},
"expansion": "clipping of riffle",
"name": "clipping"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "refrain"
},
"expansion": "refrain",
"name": "m"
}
],
"etymology_text": "Uncertain. Perhaps a clipping of riffle, or an alteration of refrain.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "riffs",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "riff (plural riffs)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
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"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "23 14 3 14 19 23 4",
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{
"_dis": "37 10 5 12 24 12 0",
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Music",
"orig": "en:Music",
"parents": [
"Art",
"Sound",
"Culture",
"Energy",
"Society",
"Nature",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
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],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2009 November 27, “Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child has 'best guitar riff'”, in BBC",
"text": "Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child has been named the greatest guitar riff of all time, 41 years after it was recorded, in a poll by website Music Radar.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"text": "Listen to one of the greatest guitar riffs of all time!"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A repeated instrumental melody line in a song."
],
"id": "en-riff-en-noun-KcXSjvne",
"links": [
[
"melody",
"melody"
],
[
"song",
"song"
]
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "84 6 2 7",
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"word": "riff"
},
{
"_dis1": "84 6 2 7",
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "melodia"
},
{
"_dis1": "84 6 2 7",
"code": "eo",
"lang": "Esperanto",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"word": "ripetfrazo"
},
{
"_dis1": "84 6 2 7",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"word": "riffi"
},
{
"_dis1": "84 6 2 7",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "riff"
},
{
"_dis1": "84 6 2 7",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Riff"
},
{
"_dis1": "84 6 2 7",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "Motiv"
},
{
"_dis1": "84 6 2 7",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "Ostinato"
},
{
"_dis1": "84 6 2 7",
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"tags": [
"masculine",
"neologism"
],
"word": "riff"
},
{
"_dis1": "84 6 2 7",
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "ritornello"
},
{
"_dis1": "84 6 2 7",
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "rifu",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"word": "リフ"
},
{
"_dis1": "84 6 2 7",
"code": "mi",
"lang": "Maori",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"word": "rerenga auau"
},
{
"_dis1": "84 6 2 7",
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "riff"
},
{
"_dis1": "84 6 2 7",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "motiv",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "мотив"
},
{
"_dis1": "84 6 2 7",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "riff"
},
{
"_dis1": "84 6 2 7",
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "riff"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "23 14 3 14 19 23 4",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
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"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2015 September 27, “Pope Francis delivers off-the-cuff riff on family life”, in USA Today",
"text": "Pope Francis delivers off-the-cuff riff on family life",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A clever or witty remark."
],
"id": "en-riff-en-noun-5oaZEt-p",
"links": [
[
"clever",
"clever"
],
[
"witty",
"witty"
],
[
"remark",
"remark"
]
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "2 91 1 6",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "clever or witty remark",
"word": "napautus"
},
{
"_dis1": "2 91 1 6",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "clever or witty remark",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "witzige Bemerkung"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2012, The Economist, London Skyline: Tower Power",
"text": "Both the Orbit and the Pinnacle are riffs on an idea sketched out in 1917 by Vladimir Tatlin for a monument to international communism.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A variation on something."
],
"id": "en-riff-en-noun-YY7yYq87"
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "23 14 3 14 19 23 4",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
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"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "14 18 3 26 19 17 2",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"parents": [
"Entries with topic categories using raw markup",
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],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2014 June 26, A. A. Dowd, “Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler Spoof Rom-com Clichés in They Came Together”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2017-12-07",
"text": "The creative team has experience with spoofing: Both [Paul] Rudd and [Amy] Poehler had parts in [David] Wain’s Wet Hot American Summer, a hysterically irreverent riff on ’80s summer-camp comedies.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A spoof."
],
"id": "en-riff-en-noun-ZPOnZOMl",
"links": [
[
"spoof",
"spoof"
]
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ɹɪf/"
},
{
"rhymes": "-ɪf"
},
{
"homophone": "Rif"
},
{
"audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-riff.wav",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/20/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-riff.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-riff.wav.mp3",
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"tags": [
"Southern-England"
],
"text": "Audio (Southern England)"
}
],
"word": "riff"
}
{
"etymology_number": 1,
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{
"args": {
"1": "en"
},
"expansion": "Uncertain",
"name": "unc"
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{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "riffle",
"nocap": "1"
},
"expansion": "clipping of riffle",
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},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "refrain"
},
"expansion": "refrain",
"name": "m"
}
],
"etymology_text": "Uncertain. Perhaps a clipping of riffle, or an alteration of refrain.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "riffs",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "riffing",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "riffed",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "riffed",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "riff (third-person singular simple present riffs, present participle riffing, simple past and past participle riffed)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "23 14 3 14 19 23 4",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
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"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2006, Janet Tashjian, Fault Line: A Novel",
"text": "She riffed on the Olympic judges, the bobsled team, then ad-libbed with a woman drinking a martini at the front table.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2011, Edward Glaeser, Triumph of the City",
"text": "They were great architects deeply enmeshed in an urban chain of innovation; Wright riffed on Sullivan's idea of form following function, and Sullivan riffed on Jenney, and Jenney relied on the fireproofing innovations of Peter B. Wight.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2014, Johann P. Arnason, Religion and Politics: European and Global Perspectives, page 59",
"text": "For Holyoake a strategic advantage of his newly coined label was the way it riffed on the term 'secular' in the Western Christian imaginary.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2014, Edward Stewart, Privileged Lives",
"text": "He riffed an upward arpeggio and in a smooth, slightly neutered baritone began singing “Baby Face.”",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2018 November 14, Jesse Hassenger, “Disney Goes Viral with an Ambitious, Overstuffed Wreck-It Ralph Sequel”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2019-11-21",
"text": "In particular, Ralph Breaks The Internet riffs a lot on its enormous parent company, from that princess bit to the Sterling Holloway tone that new good-luck charm Alan Tudyk brings to his vocal performance to a goof on the de facto parenting advice that’s at the heart of so many Pixar movies.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To improvise in the performance or practice of an art, especially by expanding on or making novel use of traditional themes."
],
"id": "en-riff-en-verb-x6FazQ4U",
"links": [
[
"improvise",
"improvise"
],
[
"art",
"art"
],
[
"themes",
"themes"
]
]
},
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2010, Michael Flynn, In the Country of the Blind",
"text": "He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a wellworn deck of cards. He hated Saturday duty. He cut the deck and riffed the two halves together.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2012, Jane Roberts, Triple Challenge: '69 to '70, page 173",
"text": "He was gracious enough to thank her, and briefly riffed through the pages before putting it in his briefcase.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2014, Miles Swarthout, The Last Shootist",
"text": "The man reached inside a pocket of the black broadcloth coat he'd draped over the back of his chair and withdrew a deck of cards, which he fanned in one hand, then bent back and riffed rapidly into the palm of his other.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To riffle."
],
"id": "en-riff-en-verb-NspMdTao",
"links": [
[
"riffle",
"riffle"
]
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ɹɪf/"
},
{
"rhymes": "-ɪf"
},
{
"homophone": "Rif"
},
{
"audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-riff.wav",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/20/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-riff.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-riff.wav.mp3",
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"tags": [
"Southern-England"
],
"text": "Audio (Southern England)"
}
],
"word": "riff"
}
{
"etymology_number": 2,
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"2": "enm",
"3": "*rif"
},
"expansion": "Middle English *rif",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "enm",
"2": "midrif"
},
"expansion": "midrif",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "hrif",
"t": "the belly; womb"
},
"expansion": "Old English hrif (“the belly; womb”)",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gmw-pro",
"3": "*hrif"
},
"expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *hrif",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gem-pro",
"3": "*hrefaz",
"t": "body; torso; belly"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Germanic *hrefaz (“body; torso; belly”)",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*krep-",
"t": "body"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *krep- (“body”)",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "corpus",
"3": "corpse",
"4": "corse",
"nocap": "1"
},
"expansion": "doublet of corpus, corpse, and corse",
"name": "doublet"
}
],
"etymology_text": "From Middle English *rif (found only in midrif), from Old English hrif (“the belly; womb”), from Proto-West Germanic *hrif, from Proto-Germanic *hrefaz (“body; torso; belly”), from Proto-Indo-European *krep- (“body”). Distant doublet of corpus, corpse, and corse.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "riffs",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
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{
"args": {},
"expansion": "riff (plural riffs)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
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"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Anatomy",
"orig": "en:Anatomy",
"parents": [
"Biology",
"Medicine",
"Sciences",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"_dis": "23 14 3 14 19 23 4",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"derived": [
{
"word": "midriff"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The belly; the bowels."
],
"id": "en-riff-en-noun-en:belly",
"links": [
[
"anatomy",
"anatomy"
],
[
"belly",
"belly"
],
[
"bowels",
"bowels"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(anatomy, archaic) The belly; the bowels."
],
"related": [
{
"word": "riff-raff"
},
{
"word": "riffraff"
}
],
"senseid": [
"en:belly"
],
"tags": [
"archaic"
],
"topics": [
"anatomy",
"medicine",
"sciences"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ɹɪf/"
},
{
"rhymes": "-ɪf"
},
{
"homophone": "Rif"
},
{
"audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-riff.wav",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/20/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-riff.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-riff.wav.mp3",
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"tags": [
"Southern-England"
],
"text": "Audio (Southern England)"
}
],
"word": "riff"
}
{
"categories": [
"English 1-syllable words",
"English clippings",
"English countable nouns",
"English doublets",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"English lemmas",
"English nouns",
"English terms derived from Middle English",
"English terms derived from Old English",
"English terms derived from Proto-Germanic",
"English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
"English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic",
"English terms inherited from Middle English",
"English terms inherited from Old English",
"English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic",
"English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European",
"English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic",
"English terms with IPA pronunciation",
"English terms with audio links",
"English terms with homophones",
"English terms with unknown etymologies",
"English verbs",
"Rhymes:English/ɪf",
"Rhymes:English/ɪf/1 syllable",
"en:Music"
],
"etymology_number": 1,
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en"
},
"expansion": "Uncertain",
"name": "unc"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "riffle",
"nocap": "1"
},
"expansion": "clipping of riffle",
"name": "clipping"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "refrain"
},
"expansion": "refrain",
"name": "m"
}
],
"etymology_text": "Uncertain. Perhaps a clipping of riffle, or an alteration of refrain.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "riffs",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "riff (plural riffs)",
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}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2009 November 27, “Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child has 'best guitar riff'”, in BBC",
"text": "Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child has been named the greatest guitar riff of all time, 41 years after it was recorded, in a poll by website Music Radar.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"text": "Listen to one of the greatest guitar riffs of all time!"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A repeated instrumental melody line in a song."
],
"links": [
[
"melody",
"melody"
],
[
"song",
"song"
]
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2015 September 27, “Pope Francis delivers off-the-cuff riff on family life”, in USA Today",
"text": "Pope Francis delivers off-the-cuff riff on family life",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A clever or witty remark."
],
"links": [
[
"clever",
"clever"
],
[
"witty",
"witty"
],
[
"remark",
"remark"
]
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2012, The Economist, London Skyline: Tower Power",
"text": "Both the Orbit and the Pinnacle are riffs on an idea sketched out in 1917 by Vladimir Tatlin for a monument to international communism.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A variation on something."
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2014 June 26, A. A. Dowd, “Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler Spoof Rom-com Clichés in They Came Together”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2017-12-07",
"text": "The creative team has experience with spoofing: Both [Paul] Rudd and [Amy] Poehler had parts in [David] Wain’s Wet Hot American Summer, a hysterically irreverent riff on ’80s summer-camp comedies.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A spoof."
],
"links": [
[
"spoof",
"spoof"
]
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ɹɪf/"
},
{
"rhymes": "-ɪf"
},
{
"homophone": "Rif"
},
{
"audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-riff.wav",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/20/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-riff.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-riff.wav.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/20/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-riff.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-riff.wav.ogg",
"tags": [
"Southern-England"
],
"text": "Audio (Southern England)"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"word": "riff"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "melodia"
},
{
"code": "eo",
"lang": "Esperanto",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"word": "ripetfrazo"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"word": "riffi"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "riff"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Riff"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "Motiv"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "Ostinato"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"tags": [
"masculine",
"neologism"
],
"word": "riff"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "ritornello"
},
{
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "rifu",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"word": "リフ"
},
{
"code": "mi",
"lang": "Maori",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"word": "rerenga auau"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "riff"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "motiv",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "мотив"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "riff"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "riff"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "clever or witty remark",
"word": "napautus"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "clever or witty remark",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "witzige Bemerkung"
}
],
"word": "riff"
}
{
"categories": [
"English 1-syllable words",
"English clippings",
"English countable nouns",
"English doublets",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"English lemmas",
"English nouns",
"English terms derived from Middle English",
"English terms derived from Old English",
"English terms derived from Proto-Germanic",
"English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
"English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic",
"English terms inherited from Middle English",
"English terms inherited from Old English",
"English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic",
"English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European",
"English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic",
"English terms with IPA pronunciation",
"English terms with audio links",
"English terms with homophones",
"English terms with unknown etymologies",
"English verbs",
"Rhymes:English/ɪf",
"Rhymes:English/ɪf/1 syllable",
"en:Music"
],
"etymology_number": 1,
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en"
},
"expansion": "Uncertain",
"name": "unc"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "riffle",
"nocap": "1"
},
"expansion": "clipping of riffle",
"name": "clipping"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "refrain"
},
"expansion": "refrain",
"name": "m"
}
],
"etymology_text": "Uncertain. Perhaps a clipping of riffle, or an alteration of refrain.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "riffs",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "riffing",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "riffed",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "riffed",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "riff (third-person singular simple present riffs, present participle riffing, simple past and past participle riffed)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2006, Janet Tashjian, Fault Line: A Novel",
"text": "She riffed on the Olympic judges, the bobsled team, then ad-libbed with a woman drinking a martini at the front table.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2011, Edward Glaeser, Triumph of the City",
"text": "They were great architects deeply enmeshed in an urban chain of innovation; Wright riffed on Sullivan's idea of form following function, and Sullivan riffed on Jenney, and Jenney relied on the fireproofing innovations of Peter B. Wight.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2014, Johann P. Arnason, Religion and Politics: European and Global Perspectives, page 59",
"text": "For Holyoake a strategic advantage of his newly coined label was the way it riffed on the term 'secular' in the Western Christian imaginary.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2014, Edward Stewart, Privileged Lives",
"text": "He riffed an upward arpeggio and in a smooth, slightly neutered baritone began singing “Baby Face.”",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2018 November 14, Jesse Hassenger, “Disney Goes Viral with an Ambitious, Overstuffed Wreck-It Ralph Sequel”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2019-11-21",
"text": "In particular, Ralph Breaks The Internet riffs a lot on its enormous parent company, from that princess bit to the Sterling Holloway tone that new good-luck charm Alan Tudyk brings to his vocal performance to a goof on the de facto parenting advice that’s at the heart of so many Pixar movies.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To improvise in the performance or practice of an art, especially by expanding on or making novel use of traditional themes."
],
"links": [
[
"improvise",
"improvise"
],
[
"art",
"art"
],
[
"themes",
"themes"
]
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2010, Michael Flynn, In the Country of the Blind",
"text": "He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a wellworn deck of cards. He hated Saturday duty. He cut the deck and riffed the two halves together.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2012, Jane Roberts, Triple Challenge: '69 to '70, page 173",
"text": "He was gracious enough to thank her, and briefly riffed through the pages before putting it in his briefcase.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2014, Miles Swarthout, The Last Shootist",
"text": "The man reached inside a pocket of the black broadcloth coat he'd draped over the back of his chair and withdrew a deck of cards, which he fanned in one hand, then bent back and riffed rapidly into the palm of his other.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To riffle."
],
"links": [
[
"riffle",
"riffle"
]
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ɹɪf/"
},
{
"rhymes": "-ɪf"
},
{
"homophone": "Rif"
},
{
"audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-riff.wav",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/20/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-riff.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-riff.wav.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/20/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-riff.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-riff.wav.ogg",
"tags": [
"Southern-England"
],
"text": "Audio (Southern England)"
}
],
"word": "riff"
}
{
"categories": [
"English 1-syllable words",
"English countable nouns",
"English doublets",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"English lemmas",
"English nouns",
"English terms derived from Middle English",
"English terms derived from Old English",
"English terms derived from Proto-Germanic",
"English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
"English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic",
"English terms inherited from Middle English",
"English terms inherited from Old English",
"English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic",
"English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European",
"English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic",
"English terms with IPA pronunciation",
"English terms with audio links",
"English terms with homophones",
"Rhymes:English/ɪf",
"Rhymes:English/ɪf/1 syllable",
"en:Music"
],
"derived": [
{
"word": "midriff"
}
],
"etymology_number": 2,
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "*rif"
},
"expansion": "Middle English *rif",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "enm",
"2": "midrif"
},
"expansion": "midrif",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "hrif",
"t": "the belly; womb"
},
"expansion": "Old English hrif (“the belly; womb”)",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gmw-pro",
"3": "*hrif"
},
"expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *hrif",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gem-pro",
"3": "*hrefaz",
"t": "body; torso; belly"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Germanic *hrefaz (“body; torso; belly”)",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*krep-",
"t": "body"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *krep- (“body”)",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "corpus",
"3": "corpse",
"4": "corse",
"nocap": "1"
},
"expansion": "doublet of corpus, corpse, and corse",
"name": "doublet"
}
],
"etymology_text": "From Middle English *rif (found only in midrif), from Old English hrif (“the belly; womb”), from Proto-West Germanic *hrif, from Proto-Germanic *hrefaz (“body; torso; belly”), from Proto-Indo-European *krep- (“body”). Distant doublet of corpus, corpse, and corse.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "riffs",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "riff (plural riffs)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"related": [
{
"word": "riff-raff"
},
{
"word": "riffraff"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English terms with archaic senses",
"en:Anatomy"
],
"glosses": [
"The belly; the bowels."
],
"links": [
[
"anatomy",
"anatomy"
],
[
"belly",
"belly"
],
[
"bowels",
"bowels"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(anatomy, archaic) The belly; the bowels."
],
"senseid": [
"en:belly"
],
"tags": [
"archaic"
],
"topics": [
"anatomy",
"medicine",
"sciences"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ɹɪf/"
},
{
"rhymes": "-ɪf"
},
{
"homophone": "Rif"
},
{
"audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-riff.wav",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/20/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-riff.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-riff.wav.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/20/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-riff.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-riff.wav.ogg",
"tags": [
"Southern-England"
],
"text": "Audio (Southern England)"
}
],
"word": "riff"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.