definition of the word ring

• enPR: rĭng, IPA: /ɹɪŋ/, SAMPA: /rIN/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

  Homophones: wring

• Rhymes: -ɪŋ

Old English hring from Germanic *hrengaz

The mathematics sense was introduced by mathematician David Hilbert in 1892, a contraction of the German Zahlring. (Reference: Harvey Cohn, Advanced Number Theory, page 49.)

ring (plural rings)

1. A circumscribing object (looking like an annual ring, earring, finger ring, etc.)
2. A round piece of (precious) metal worn around the finger.
3. (Should we delete⁽⁺⁾ this redundant sense?) (UK) A bird band, a round piece of metal put around a bird's leg used for identification and studies of migration.
4. A place where some sports take place; as, a boxing ring.
5. (Should we delete⁽⁺⁾ this redundant sense?) A circular arena where circus acts take place, a circus ring.
6. A group of people, usually involving some unethical or illegal practices; as a Crime ring.
7. (algebra) An algebraic structure which is a group under addition and a monoid under multiplication.

   The set of integers, , is the prototypical ring.

8. (geometry) A planar geometrical figure included between two concentric circles.
9. (astronomy) A formation of various pieces of material orbiting around a planet.
10. An old English measure of corn equal to the coomb or half a quarter.

    • 1866: The ring is common in the Huntingdonshire accounts of Ramsey Abbey. It was equal to half a quarter, i.e., is identical with the coomb of the eastern counties. — James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, Volume 1, p. 168.

Definition from Wiktionary Content avaible with GNU Free Documentation License

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