Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

rhubarb

/ˈɹuˌbɑɹb/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.97 in modern English

Syllables
rhu-barb
IPA
/ˈɹuˌbɑɹb/
14
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any plant of the genus Rheum, especially Rheum rhabarbarum, having large leaves and long green or reddish acidic leafstalks that are edible, in particular when cooked (although the leaves are mildly poisonous).

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The leafstalks of common rhubarb or garden rhubarb (usually known as Rheum × hybridum), which are long, fleshy, often pale red, and with a tart taste, used as a food ingredient; they are frequently stewed with sugar and made into jam or used in crumbles, pies, etc.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The dried rhizome and roots of Rheum palmatum (Chinese rhubarb) or Rheum officinale (Tibetan rhubarb), from China, used as a laxative and purgative.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A Royal Air Force World War II code name for operations by aircraft (fighters and fighter-bombers) involving low-level flight to seek opportunistic targets.

British usage; Countable; Uncountable

noun

A ditch alongside a road or highway.

Countable; Uncountable

adj

Of the colour of rhubarb: either brownish-yellow (the colour of rhubarb rhizomes and roots used for medicinal purposes), or pale red (often the colour of the leafstalks of common rhubarb).

verb

Of fighter aircraft: to fire at a target opportunistically.

British usage

noun

General background noise caused by several simultaneous indecipherable conversations, which is created in films, stage plays, etc., by actors repeating the word rhubarb; hence, such noise in other settings.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English rubarbe, from Anglo-Norman reubarbe (modern French rhubarbe), from Late Latin reubarbarum, rheubarbarum, rubarbera, rybarba, probably from Koine Greek ῥῆον βαρβαρικόν (rhêon barbarikón), from ῥῆον (rhêon, “rhubarb”) + Ancient Greek βαρβαρικόν (barbarikón), neuter of βαρβαρικός (barbarikós, “foreign; barbaric”) (English barbaric). There is also a Medieval Latin variant rabarbarum, which appears to be influenced by Ancient Greek ῥᾶ (rhâ, “rhubarb”), and gave rise to some of the forms in modern languages. The Ancient Greek variant term appears to have been folk-etymologically influenced by Ancient Greek Ῥᾶ (Rhâ, “the River Volga”), which is in the region from which the plant came to the Mediterranean. The ultimate origin of the Ancient Greek terms is, however, Proto-Iranian *(h)rabā́š (“rhubarb, fennel”). The word is cognate with Catalan ruibarbre, Italian rabarbaro, Dutch rabarber, German Rhabarber, Old Occitan reubarbe, Portuguese ruibarbo, Spanish ruibarbo.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: rubarbe, reubarbe, reubarbarum, ῥῆον βαρβαρικόν, βαρβαρικόν, Ῥᾶ

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈɹuˌbɑɹb/
  • British English: /ˈɹuːbɑːb/

Usage

Inflected Forms

rhubarbs (plural) rhubarbs (present, singular) rhubarbing (participle, present) rhubarbed (participle, past) rhubarbed (past)

Derived Forms

rhubarblike rhubarby

Phrases

Alaska wild rhubarb bastard rhubarb Batavian rhubarb Bucharian rhubarb Chinese rhubarb currant-fruited rhubarb desert rhubarb donkey rhubarb

Frequently Paired Words

barbarian rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb

Synonyms

tusky pieplant rhubarb plant

Questions

How do you pronounce rhubarb?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɹuˌbɑɹb/.
What does rhubarb mean?
Any plant of the genus Rheum, especially Rheum rhabarbarum, having large leaves and long green or reddish acidic leafstalks that are edible, in particular when cooked (although the leaves are mildly poisonous).
Where does rhubarb come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce rhubarb

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “rhubarb”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɹuˌbɑɹb/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “rhubarb”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “rhubarb” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.