ripen

Meaning

  1. (intransitive) to grow ripe; to become mature (said of grain, fruit, flowers etc.)
  2. (intransitive) To approach or come to perfection.
  3. (transitive) To cause (something) to mature; to make ripe
  4. (transitive) To mature; to fit or prepare; to bring to perfection

Frequency

41k
Pronounced as (IPA)
/ˈɹaɪpən/
Etymology

In summary

From Middle English *ripenen, extended form of ripen, from Old English rīpian. In the modern form, equivalent to ripe + -en (inchoative and factitive suffix). As in several other verbs, the alteration seems to have occurred during the time when the infinitive and plural ending -en was in the process of being lost (and was thus open to reinterpretation). The earliest attestation is deverbal Middle English ripening (“causing ripeness, ripening”).

Notes

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