risp

R1I1S1P3
/ɹɪsp/

verb

To rub together, to rasp or grate.

OriginMiddle English rispen ← Old Norse rispa ← Proto-Germanic *ripsōną →
UncommonScrabble 6
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Meanings

verbrisp (third-person singular simple present risps, present participle risping, simple past and past participle risped)

present singular third person risps · participle present risping · participle past risped · past risped · alternative resp

  1. To rub together, to rasp or grate.
nounrisp (plural risps)

plural risps · alternative resp

  1. A rubbing or grating together.

    [T]hat Greek waste silent but for the risp of the tettix and the wash of listless wind through the spare grass.

    1974, Guy Davenport, Tatlin!: Six Stories, New York, N.Y.: Scribner, →ISBN

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*reyb-“to tear; snatch; pluck; reap”
  2. Proto-Germanic*ripsōną“to rend; rip; tear open”
  3. Old Norserispa“scratch”
  4. Middle Englishrispen
  5. Englishrisp

From Middle English rispen, from Old Norse rispa (“scratch”), from Proto-Germanic *ripsōną (“to rend; rip; tear open”), from Proto-Indo-European *reyb- (“to tear; snatch; pluck; reap”). Compare also Old Norse rifsa (“to plunder; reave”).

More words from Middle English, Old Norse, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with risp

lispcrispwispberisp
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

risp. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/risp

MLA

“risp.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/risp. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “risp,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/risp.

Source: risp on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.