ribb

Rib comes from Old English ribb, from Proto-Germanic *rebją, meaning one of the curved bones forming the thoracic cage. Cognates include Old Norse rif, Old High German rippi, Dutch rib, and German Rippe. The Proto-Indo-European root is debated but may be related to *rebh- (to cover, to roof), which would make the ribs the roofing of the body — the curved structural members that protect the organs beneath them, the way rafters protect a house.

The rib appears in one of the oldest stories in Western literature. Genesis 2:21–22 describes God forming Eve from Adam's rib. The Hebrew word is tsela, which can mean rib, side, or beam. The Genesis account made the rib mythologically loaded in ways that other bones were not. No one tells stories about the femur of Adam. The rib carried theological weight for two millennia because one verse chose it.

Medically, the ribs are twelve pairs of curved bones that protect the heart, lungs, and great vessels. The upper seven pairs attach to the sternum via cartilage (true ribs). The next three attach indirectly (false ribs). The bottom two float free (floating ribs). This classification system comes from Galen, though the structures themselves have been understood since Egyptian medicine. The Edwin Smith Papyrus, from around 1600 BCE, describes rib fractures and their treatment.

The word rib has generated compounds and metaphors across English. Rib vault (Gothic architecture). Rib-eye steak (the cut between ribs). Rib-tickling (funny). To rib someone (to tease, from the vulnerability of the ribcage to poking). The bone's curve, its protective function, and its proximity to ticklish flesh have all generated vocabulary.