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rivet

ri·vet

UK/ˈɹɪvət/ US/ˈrɪvʌt/ rare obsolete
verb (3) noun (2)

verb

1.

direct one''s attention on something

  • “Please focus on your studies and not on your hobbies”
Synonyms
2.

fasten with a rivet or rivets

3.

hold (someone''s attention)

  • “The discovery of the skull riveted the paleontologists”

noun

1.

ornament consisting of a circular rounded protuberance (as on a vault or shield or belt)

Synonyms
2.

heavy pin having a head at one end and the other end being hammered flat after being passed through holes in the pieces that are fastened together

Origin

From Old French rivet (13th century), from the verb Old French river (“to fetter [a person]”) (12th century), from Old French rive (“rim, edge”) (ca. 1100), which is ultimately from Latin ripa (“riverbank”). Compare river, rival, riparian. The sense "kind of footman's armour" is apparently a back-formation from almain rivet, which is apparently derived from the English noun; see that entry for more.

Phrases

  • on the rivet
  • pop rivet
  • rivet counter
  • rivet gun
  • rivet hearth
  • rivet knob
  • rivet wheat

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.