Re: The origin of "rip" to mean "copy"
- From: Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2005 02:21:31 -0400
Harvey Van Sickle wrote:
>
> On 16 Aug 2005, Pat Durkin wrote
> > "Arfur Million" <arfur_million@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> > news:H7rMe.10$K85.2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >> "Per Stromgren" <per.stromgren@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> >> news:7rd4g15lucq958fur17uedtgsve3251o0e@xxxxxxxxxx
> >>> Cheers!
> >>>
> >>> I have seen a common use of the word "rip" as the following
> >>> example from a usenet post shows:
> >>>
> >>> "Every time I rip a CD to my hard drive, after some time, the
> >>> files are mysteriously deleted."
> >>>
> >>> In this context "rip" means top "copy" or pull information from
> >>> a media onto another. This use is not covered in the
> >>> dictionaries I have handy.
> >>>
> >>> Can anyone shed any light on its origin in this context?
>
> >> To "rip off" can mean to copy or plagiarise in colloquial English
> >> (British English at least) and maybe, I speculate, this usage of
> >> "rip" is just a shortened version of this meaning.
> >
> > I concur. "Rip, (rip off, steal, tear off) a copy".
>
> That certainly sounds right at first glance, but an original
> transference from earlier printing terminology that Per and Arfur have
> discussed elsethread sounds even more likely to me.
The latest batch of OED draft entries includes this sense of "rip". The
exact origin isn't specified, but the entry suggests that "rip off" was
at least an indirect influence...
-----
rip, v.2
* trans. Computing. a. To copy (data, esp. digital audio files)
from a CD or DVD, or from the web, into one's computer, esp. illegally.
Hence: to transfer from a CD (or DVD) to a hard disk.
With quot. 1982 cf. sense 6e.
[1982 Business Week 31 May 28/3 The user who rips off (an
applications) software program and makes a copy to give a friend is a
different class of pirate.] 1988 InfoWorld (Nexis) 27 June S12/4 You
could spend all your time running from bulletin board to bulletin board,
looking for illegal postings, ripping them into your copy buffer as
evidence of evil misdeeds. 1990 Amiga Computing Dec. 122/2 With its help
you can hunt down and rip the tunes with ease. 2000 ?DR. K.? Compl.
Hacker's Handbk. xi. 148 The MP3 scene gained early notoriety through
the mass copying and distribution of tracks ?ripped? from CDs. 2004
Computer Mus. (Beginners Special) Apr. Apr. 83/1 You can then record
these sounds into your computer (or more likely ?rip? them internally
from your CD-ROM drive).
* b. To copy the contents of (a CD or DVD) in this way. Also: to
produce or write (a CD or DVD) by copying files from elsewhere.
2000 Austral. Personal Computer May 71/2 This still allows users to
copy and rip CDs for personal use. 2001 U.S. News & World Rep. 26 Nov.
66/3 So you've ripped your CDs into MP3 files and grouped them into long
playlists, but the tunes are trapped in your PC. 2003 Wall St. Jrnl. 16
June R10/4 Verbatim, the disc and CD maker, sells writeable CDs that
look like vinyl 45s... Now you can rip a mix CD of your oldies and still
have that old-school cachet.
-----
.
- References:
- The origin of "rip" to mean "copy"
- From: Per Stromgren
- Re: The origin of "rip" to mean "copy"
- From: Arfur Million
- Re: The origin of "rip" to mean "copy"
- From: Pat Durkin
- Re: The origin of "rip" to mean "copy"
- From: Harvey Van Sickle
- The origin of "rip" to mean "copy"
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