rebus
pronunciation
How to pronounce rebus in British English:
UK [ˈri:bəs]
How to pronounce rebus in American English:
US [ˈribəs]
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- Noun:
- a puzzle where you decode a message consisting of pictures representing syllables and words
Word Origin
- rebus (n.)
- c. 1600, from Latin rebus "by means of objects," ablative plural of res "thing, object." According to French sources, principally from the phrase de rebus quæ geruntur "of things which are going on," in reference to the satirical pieces composed by Picardy clerks at carnivals, subtle satires of current events using pictures to suggest words, phrases or things. Or it may be from the representations being non verbis sed rebus "not by words, but by things." In either case from Latin res "thing."
Example
- 1. This is the rebus principle .
- 2. Kids will love this charming ready-to-read story with rebus icons about olivia and her pet .
- 3. This is called rebus writing , and is a tremendously common pattern in all early writing systems .
- 4. The fact is that the enigma has already this much resolved , that it is only a rebus .
- 5. Today we may consider rebus puzzles to be nothing but a silly game , but to the ancients , they were a natural way to write a language .