ring roadn.
/ˈrɪŋ rəʊd/, U.S. /ˈrɪŋ ˌroʊd/ 1. A circular course or drive; spec. = ring n.1 12 (usually with capital initials). Now chiefly historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement in circle or curve > [noun] > movement in circle > circular course
ringeOE
virona1380
environa1382
roundness?c1425
circuit1483
orbicular1523
round1539
bouta1542
rundle1574
ring road1828
orbit1831
ring-around1894
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > [noun] > for horses or for riding > specifically in Hyde Park
ring1676
Rotten Row1761
ride1785
ring road1828
Ladies' Mile1848
1828 Rep. Sel. Comm. Office of Wks. & Public Buildings 160 Forming the Mall on the South side of the River, and widening the Ring Road near the Statue.
1843 T. C. Haliburton Attaché II. iv. 59 First and foremost, a ring-road is formed, like a small race-course.
1861 Army Med. Dept. Rep. for 1859 246 The Ordnance ground is encircled by a ring road, within which is a deep trench.
1905 ‘L. Melville’ Some Aspects of Thackeray vii. 138 The coachman..continued to drive round the Ring Road.
2002 P. F. J. Eagles & S. F. McCool Tourism in National Parks ii. 28 Charles I..opened Hyde Park to the public for the first time and had the ring road laid out, providing a drive for people to show off lavish horses and carriages.
2. A bypass or (in early use) railway encircling a town or urban area.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > road > [noun] > for wheeled vehicles > ring road or by-pass
ring road1874
beltline1922
bypass1922
beltway1951
ringway1960
orbital1970
1874 Christian Advocate 2 Apr. 1/7 It is proposed to construct a ‘ring-road’, whose circumference shall at all points be about four miles from the actual center of town.
1892 Rep. Rapid Transit Comm. to Mass. Legislature App. iii, 161 I present a railroad map of Berlin, by which the Commission can see at a glance the relation which the viaduct road, the ring road, and the various roads that centre in Berlin bear to each other.
1910 Amer. City July 244/2 Such a ring road would bring decided advantages: a great deal of fast traffic could circle around London instead of passing through.
1933 L. P. Abercrombie Town & Country Planning iv. 144 The external Ring road has been frequently made to avoid the destructive widening of an old village.
1956 Sun (Baltimore) 17 July 12/2 Mr. McVoy establishes a priority system in which the first need is the ring road around the inner city.
1981 B. Hines Looks & Smiles 31 They..caught a bus out to the Ring Road where a Trading Estate was being developed.
2003 Church Times 28 Feb. 9/4 As we slowly orbited eight miles on an outer ring-road, packed with rush-hour traffic, tedium was relieved by York Minster ever in view.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1828