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rib

Nautical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

In Nautical language, a rib is one of the curved structural timbers or metal frames that gives a ship’s hull its shape and strength.

Detailed Definition
A ship’s ribs run across the hull much as ribs support a human chest, forming the framework to which planking is fastened. Damage to a rib can weaken or breach the vessel’s side, making repairs urgent, especially in rough seas. In older maritime poetry, “rib” may refer to a single frame or more broadly to the ship’s internal structural timbers.
Example
Example in poetry:
In “Forecastle Sailor or the Guardian Frigate,” the sailor says, “Providence help’d us to bale her, / and we manag’d to patch up her rib.” Here, “her rib” refers to a damaged part of the ship’s hull framework, which the crew repairs while also bailing out water. Earlier in the poem, “I pelted his rib” uses rib in its ordinary human sense: the speaker strikes Ned Junk in the side.
Additional Notes
The Nautical use is metaphorically related to the ribs of a human or animal body: both provide supporting structure. Related shipbuilding terms include frame, timber, futtock, planking, hull, and keel. A rib is not usually the outer surface of the ship; the outer boards or plates are the planking or shell, while ribs support them from within. In older sea songs and poems, singular “rib” can sometimes stand for a damaged structural area rather than one precisely identified frame.
Other Meanings of “rib”
Also Known As
Tease Mock Taunt Jest
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