Etymograph

English

rebus

Rebus may come from French rébus ‘rebus (puzzle)’, from Latin rēs ‘object, stuff, thing’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(H)reh₁- ‘to give, bestow’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(H)reh₁-1‘to give, bestow’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*reh₁ís2‘goods’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*reis3reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErēs2‘object, stuff, thing’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErēbus2ablative plural of rēs
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentrébus2‘rebus (puzzle)’uncertain
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1655rebus2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *(H)reh₁ís
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English rebus, which cites OED
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin res
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1655, Thomas Fuller, Section IV. To John Ferrars, of Tamworth Castle, Esquire.: “He [John Morton] was a learned man, and had…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(H)reh₁-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *(H)reh₁ís‘to give, bestow’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*reh₁ísWiktionary, English rebus, which cites OED‘goods’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*reisWiktionary, Latin resreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErēsWiktionary, English rebus, which cites OED‘object, stuff, thing’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErēbusWiktionary, English rebus, which cites OEDablative plural of rēs
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentrébusWiktionary, English rebus, which cites OED‘rebus (puzzle)’uncertain
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1655rebusWiktionary, English rebus, which cites OED. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1655, Thomas Fuller, Section IV. To John Ferrars, of Tamworth Castle, Esquire.: “He [John Morton] was a learned man, and had…”

The story

The connection between the English word and its Latin etymon is unclear.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *reis

reality, realise, realisation, 17 more

through Latin rēs ‘object, stuff, thing’

real, re, 20 more

Today it means

noun An arrangement of pictures, symbols, or words representing phrases or words, especially as a word puzzle.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “rebus”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *(H)reh₁ís, Latin res. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(H)reh₁- / rebus

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