See riff in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
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{
"_dis1": "82 9 2 7",
"code": "ca",
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"word": "riff"
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"word": "ripetfrazo"
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"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"word": "riffi"
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},
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"word": "リフ"
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"lang": "Maori",
"sense": "repeated instrumental melody line",
"word": "rerenga auau"
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"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.",
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"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:",
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"ref": "2006, Janet Tashjian, Fault Line: A Novel, →ISBN:",
"text": "She riffed on the Olympic judges, the bobsled team, then ad-libbed with a woman drinking a martini at the front table.",
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"ref": "2011, Edward Glaeser, Triumph of the City, →ISBN:",
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"ref": "2014, Johann P. Arnason, Religion and Politics: European and Global Perspectives, →ISBN, page 59:",
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"ref": "2014, Edward Stewart, Privileged Lives, →ISBN:",
"text": "He riffed an upward arpeggio and in a smooth, slightly neutered baritone began singing “Baby Face.”",
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{
"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.",
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"ref": "2010, Michael Flynn, In the Country of the Blind, →ISBN:",
"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": "quote"
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{
"ref": "2012, Jane Roberts, Triple Challenge: '69 to '70, →ISBN, page 173:",
"text": "He was gracious enough to thank her, and briefly riffed through the pages before putting it in his briefcase.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2014, Miles Swarthout, The Last Shootist, →ISBN:",
"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.",
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"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"
},
{
"rhymes": "-ɪf"
},
{
"homophone": "Rif"
}
],
"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 clippings",
"English countable nouns",
"English doublets",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"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 homophones",
"English terms with unknown etymologies",
"English verbs",
"Entries with translation boxes",
"Pages with 5 entries",
"Pages with entries",
"Rhymes:English/ɪf",
"Rhymes:English/ɪf/1 syllable",
"Terms with Catalan translations",
"Terms with Esperanto translations",
"Terms with Finnish translations",
"Terms with French translations",
"Terms with German translations",
"Terms with Italian translations",
"Terms with Japanese translations",
"Terms with Maori translations",
"Terms with Portuguese translations",
"Terms with Russian translations",
"Terms with Spanish translations",
"Terms with Swedish translations",
"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"
}
],
"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, →ISBN:",
"text": "She riffed on the Olympic judges, the bobsled team, then ad-libbed with a woman drinking a martini at the front table.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2011, Edward Glaeser, Triumph of the City, →ISBN:",
"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": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2014, Johann P. Arnason, Religion and Politics: European and Global Perspectives, →ISBN, 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": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2014, Edward Stewart, Privileged Lives, →ISBN:",
"text": "He riffed an upward arpeggio and in a smooth, slightly neutered baritone began singing “Baby Face.”",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"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": "quote"
}
],
"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, →ISBN:",
"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": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2012, Jane Roberts, Triple Challenge: '69 to '70, →ISBN, page 173:",
"text": "He was gracious enough to thank her, and briefly riffed through the pages before putting it in his briefcase.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2014, Miles Swarthout, The Last Shootist, →ISBN:",
"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": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To riffle."
],
"links": [
[
"riffle",
"riffle"
]
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ɹɪf/"
},
{
"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"
},
{
"rhymes": "-ɪf"
},
{
"homophone": "Rif"
}
],
"word": "riff"
}
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English doublets",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"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 homophones",
"Pages with 5 entries",
"Pages with entries",
"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": "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/"
},
{
"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"
},
{
"rhymes": "-ɪf"
},
{
"homophone": "Rif"
}
],
"word": "riff"
}
Download raw JSONL data for riff meaning in English (14.1kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). 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.