An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Rippe
Rippe (Luther, Riebe), f., ‘rib,’ from MidHG. rippe (ribe), n. and f., OHG. rippa, f., rippi (ribi), n. ‘rib’; corresponding to the equiv. Du. rib, ribbe, AS. ribb, E. rib, OIc. rif; Goth. *ribi, n. (plur. *ribja), is by chance not recorded. Teut. ribja-, from pre-Teut. rebhyo-, is cognate with ModHG. Rebe and OSlov. rebro, n., ‘rib,’ from rebhro-. See Rebe, where ‘entwining’ is deduced as the prim. meaning of Rippe.