Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Rebus

Re′bus

(rē′bŭs)
,
Noun.
;
pl.
Rebuses
(rē′bŭs-ĕz)
.
[L.
rebus
by things, abl. pl. of
res
a thing: cf. F.
rébus
. Cf. 3d
Real
.]
1.
A mode of expressing words and phrases by pictures of objects whose names resemble those words, or the syllables of which they are composed; enigmatical representation of words by figures; hence, a peculiar form of riddle made up of such representations.
☞ A gallant, in love with a woman named Rose Hill, had, embroidered on his gown, a rose, a hill, an eye, a loaf, and a well, signifying, Rose Hill I love well.
2.
(Her.)
A pictorial suggestion on a coat of arms of the name of the person to whom it belongs. See
Canting arms
, under
Canting
.

Re′bus

,
Verb.
T.
To mark or indicate by a rebus.
He [John Morton] had a fair library
rebused
with More in text and Tun under it.
Fuller.

Webster 1828 Edition

Rebus

RE'BUS

,
Noun.
[L. from res, which is of the class Rd, Rs, and of the same family as riddle. See Riddle, Read and Real.]
1.
An enigmatical representation of some name, &c. by using figures or pictures instead of words. A gallant in love with a woman named Rose Hill, painted on the border of his gown, a rose, a hill, an eye, a loaf and a well, which reads, Rose Hill I love well.
2.
A sort of riddle.
3.
In some chimical writers, sour milk; sometimes, the ultimate matter of which all bodies are composed.
4.
In heraldry, a coat of arms which bears an allusion to the name of the person; as three cups, for Butler.

Definition 2025

Rebus

Rebus

See also: rebus, rébus, and rebus'

German

Noun

Rebus m or n

  1. rebus (type of word puzzle)

Synonyms

  • Bilderrätsel n

rebus

rebus

See also: Rebus, rébus, and rebus'

English

Noun

rebus ‎(plural rebuses)

  1. A kind of word puzzle which uses pictures to represent words or parts of words.
  2. (heraldry) A pictorial suggestion on a coat of arms of the name of the person to whom it belongs.

Translations

Verb

rebus ‎(third-person singular simple present rebuses, present participle rebusing, simple past and past participle rebused)

  1. (transitive) To mark or indicate by a rebus.
    • Fuller
      He [John Morton] had a fair library rebused with More in text and Tun under it.

See also

Anagrams

Crimean Tatar

Etymology

French rébus, from Latin rebus.

Noun

rebus

  1. rebus.

Declension

References

  • Mirjejev, V. A.; Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary], Simferopol: Dolya, ISBN 966-7980-89-8

Danish

Noun

rebus c (singular definite rebussen, plural indefinite rebusser)

  1. rebus (puzzle)

Declension

French

Verb

rebus

  1. first-person singular past historic of reboire
  2. second-person singular past historic of reboire

Participle

rebus

  1. masculine plural of the past participle of reboire

Anagrams

Italian

Noun

rebus m ‎(invariable)

  1. rebus
  2. enigma
  3. puzzle

Latin

Noun

rēbus

  1. dative plural of res
  2. ablative plural of res

References

Malay

Adjective

rebus

  1. boiled (food)

Verb

rebus

  1. to boil (food)

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /rěːbus/
  • Hyphenation: re‧bus

Noun

rébus m ‎(Cyrillic spelling ре́бус)

  1. rebus

Declension

Swedish

Noun

rebus c

  1. a rebus; a kind of word puzzle

Declension

Inflection of rebus 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative rebus rebusen rebusar rebusarna
Genitive rebus rebusens rebusars rebusarnas

Related terms

  • rebuslösning

Synonyms

  • bildgåta

References

Etymology

From French rébus, from Latin rebus (ablative plural of res ‎(“thing”)), taken either from the phrase de rebus quae geruntur "concerning the things that are taking place", used in sixteenth-century Picardie as the name for satirical pieces containing picture-riddles, or from the phrase nōn verbīs sed rébus meaning "not by words but by things".

Pronunciation

  • enPR: rē'bəs, IPA(key): /ˈriːbəs/
  • Rhymes: -iːbəs

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