rife

See also: Rife and rifé

English

WOTD – 7 May 2008

Etymology

From Middle English rife, from Old English rīfe, rȳfe (“rife, abundant, frequent”), from Proto-Germanic *rībaz (“generous”), from Proto-Indo-European *reyp- (“to tear (off), rip”). Cognate with West Frisian rju (“rife, much”), Low German rive (“abundant, munificent”), Dutch rijf (“abundant, copious”), Icelandic rífr (“rife, munificent”), Icelandic reifa (“to bestow”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹaɪf/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪf

Adjective

rife (comparative rifer, superlative rifest)

1. Widespread, common, prevalent, current (mainly of unpleasant or harmful things).

   Smallpox was rife after the siege had been lifted.

   • (Can we date this quote by Arbuthnot and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Before the plague of London, inflammations of the lungs were rife and mortal.

   • (Can we date this quote by Milton and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     The tumult of loud mirth was rife.

   • 1900, Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams, Avon Books, (translated by James Strachey) pg. 170:

     The 'denominational considerations' mentioned below relate, of course, to anti-Semitic feeling, which was already rife in Vienna during the last years of the nineteenth century.

2. Abounding; present in large numbers, plentiful.

   These woodlands are rife with red deer.

   Watermelons are rife with seeds.

3. Full of (mostly unpleasant or harmful things).

   Many post-colonial governments were rife with lawlessness and corruption.

   • 2013, Daniel Taylor, Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic climbs highest to sink Benfica (in The Guardian, 15 May 2013)[1]

     They will have to reflect on a seventh successive defeat in a European final while Chelsea try to make sense of an eccentric season rife with controversy and bad feeling but once again one finishing on an exhilarating high.

4. (obsolete) Having power; active; nimble.
   • (Can we date this quote by J. Webster and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     What! I am rife a little yet.

Synonyms

• (widespread): pandemic, ubiquitous; see also Thesaurus:widespread
• (abounding, plentiful): filled; see also Thesaurus:plentiful

Derived terms

• rifely
• rifeness

Translations

Widespread, common (especially of unpleasant or harmful things)

• Dutch: schering en inslag, welig (nl)
• Italian: diffuso (it) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: киша́щий (ru) (kišáščij)
• Spanish: difuso (es) m

Abounding; present in large numbers, plentiful

• Dutch: welig (nl), alom (nl)
• Japanese: 満ちた (michita)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: изоби́лующий (ru) (izobílujuščij), распространённый (ru) (rasprostranjónnyj)

Adverb

rife (comparative more rife, superlative most rife)

1. Plentifully, abundantly.

   The snowdrops grow rife on the slopes of Mount Pembroke.

Translations

Plentifully, abundantly

• Russian: оби́льно (ru) (obílʹno)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Anagrams

• -fier, FIRE, Fier, Frie, fier, fire, refi, reif, rief

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Spanish

Verb

rife

1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of rifar.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of rifar.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of rifar.