Etymograph

English

riprap

Riprap may come from English rap ‘blow, stroke’.

  1. English1500–presentrap1‘blow, stroke’uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1982riprap1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English riprap
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1982, TC Boyle, Water Music: “They hold on, spray flying, the ceaseless racket of…”.

Lineage

  1. English1500–presentrapWiktionary, English riprap‘blow, stroke’uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1982riprapWiktionary, English riprap. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1982, TC Boyle, Water Music: “They hold on, spray flying, the ceaseless racket of…”

Every English word from English rap

Today it means

noun An underwater bank seen as a danger to shipping.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “riprap”. 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 / English rap / riprap

Shirt and support for this word