rebus
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rebus
- /ˈɹiːbəs/ UK
- /ˈɹibəs/ US
Rhymes with -iːbəs
Where it comes from
From French rébus (“rebus (puzzle); ambiguity; word used in an oblique sense; unintelligible remark”), or directly from its probable etymon Latin rēbus, the ablative plural of rēs (“object, stuff, thing; issue, matter, subject, topic”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *reh₁ís (“goods; wealth”). The connection between the English word and its Latin etymon is unclear.
further etymology
The following possibilities have been suggested, but according to the Oxford English Dictionary are problematic:
* According to the French scholar Gilles Ménage (1613–1692) in Les origines de la langue françoise (The Origins of the French Language, 1650), it is taken from the phrase de rebus quae geruntur (“concerning the things that are taking place”) which was used in 16th-century Picardy as the name for satirical writings on contemporary subjects containing picture-riddles that were composed for an annual carnival. However, the term rebus de Picardie is first attested later than the word rébus, and so could simply refer to rebuses popular in Picardy at the time.
* Alternatively, it could be from the phrase nōn verbīs sed rēbus meaning “not by words but by things”, but this “encounters difficulties in the chronology of the senses in French”.
noun rebuses · rebusses · rebi
-
An arrangement of pictures, symbols, or words representing phrases or words, especially as a word puzzle.
I back him at a Rebus or a Charade against the best Rhymer in the Kingdom—has your Ladyship heard the Epigram he wrote last week on Lady Frizzle's Feather catching Fire—
Similar: rebus puzzle, dingbat
- A pictographic component of a compound character (e.g. sinograph) used to hint at the pronunciation of the compound.
- An arrangement of pictures on a coat of arms which suggests the name of the person to whom it belongs. The prior [Will Bolton] used to come out here to hunt in summer and recreate himself, and his rebus—a barrel or tun shot through with a crossbow bolt—is set into the garden walls.
- A type of crossword puzzle in which some squares contain entire words, or symbols representing words, instead of single letters. Instead of spelling out card suits, for example, perhaps the constructor inserted a "rebus," or picture icon for clubs, hearts, spades, or diamonds in one answer box.
verb rebuses · rebusses · rebusing · rebussing · rebused
- To represent (a phrase or word) as a rebus.
- To apply a rebus to (something). He [John Morton] was a learned man, and had a fair library, (rebussed with more in text and tun under it,) partly remaining in the possession of the late earl of Arundel.
Translations
Every language
noun arrangement of pictures, etc., representing phrases or words, especially as a word puzzle
| Español | jeroglífico |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 判じ物 hanjimono |
| 中文 | 畫謎 /画谜 huàmí |
| Português | rébus |
| Français | rébus |
| Deutsch | Rebus, Bilderrätsel |
| Italiano | rebus |
| Ελληνικά | εικονόγριφος eikonógrifos |
| Română | rebus |
| Русский | ре́бус rébus |
| עברית | רֶבּוּס rebus |
Talk about this word "rebus." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/rebus. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. rebus. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/rebus "rebus." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/rebus.Cite this
@misc{rebus_2026,
title = {rebus},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/rebus},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
