ripen

Pronunciation: /ˈɹaɪpən/

The English word “ripen” has 4 meanings listed here.

verb

Of grain, fruit, flowers, etc., to grow ripe; to become mature.
To approach or come to perfection.
To cause (something) to mature; to make ripe.
To mature; to fit or prepare; to bring to perfection.

Etymology

From Middle English *ripenen, extended form of ripen, from Old English rīpian. In the modern form, equivalent to ripe + -en (inchoative and factitive suffix). As in several other verbs, the alteration seems to have occurred during the time when the infinitive and plural ending -en was in the process of being lost (and was thus open to reinterpretation). The earliest attestation is deverbal Middle…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.