ripple

Etymology 1

From an alteration of rimple.

noun

1. A moving disturbance, or undulation, in the surface of a fluid.
   I dropped a small stone into the pond and watched the ripples spread.
   The ebbing tide had left ripples in the sand.
   Ripples in the water betray the presence of the fish waiting for a chance to pounce on the insects skirting over the water. 2009, Helen Oon, “New Territories”, in Hong Kong (Globetrotters Travel Guide), 1st edition, New Holland Publishers, →OCLC, page 80
2. A sound similar to that of undulating water.
3. A style of ice cream in which flavors have been coarsely blended together.
   I enjoy fudge ripple ice cream, but I especially like to dig through the carton to get at the ripple part and eat only that.
4. (electronics) A small oscillation of an otherwise steady signal.

verb

1. (intransitive) To move like the undulating surface of a body of water; to undulate.
2. (intransitive) To propagate like a moving wave.
   These problems were complicated by a foreign exchange crunch which rippled through the economy in 1961-1962, […] 2008, Bradley Simpson, Economists with Guns, page 65
3. (intransitive) To make a sound as of water running gently over a rough bottom, or the breaking of ripples on the shore.
4. (transitive) To shape into a series of ripples.
5. (transitive) To launch or unleash in rapid succession.
   Hearns' 'Mech rippled fifteen missiles. Austen watched the missiles go in. They smashed into a copse of trees, smashing the trunks aside. 2019, Jason M. Hardy, Phaedra M. Weldon, Herbert A. Beas II, BattleTech: Weapons Free: BattleCorps Anthology, Volume 3

Etymology 2

From Middle English *ripelen, repulen, equivalent to rip + -le (frequentative suffix).

verb

1. (transitive) To scratch, tear, or break slightly; graze

Etymology 3

Compare German Low German Repel, Dutch repel, German Riffel, extended forms (with instrumental or diminutive -le) of Low German Repe (“ripple”), Dutch repe (“ripple”). Compare also Dutch repen, German reffen, Swedish repa (“to beat; ripple”). The verb is from Middle English ripplen, rypelen. Compare Low German repelen, Dutch repelen, German riffeln.

noun

1. (textiles) An implement, with teeth like those of a comb, for removing the seeds and seed vessels from flax, broom corn, etc.

verb

1. To remove the seeds from (the stalks of flax, etc.), by means of a ripple.