ridge

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɹɪd͡ʒ/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English rigge, rugge, inherited from Old English hrycg (“back of a man or beast”),^[2][3][4] probably reinforced by Old Norse hryggr (“back, ridge”),^[2][3] from Proto-Germanic *hrugjaz,^[3][5] source also of Old Saxon hruggi, Dutch rug and German Rücken (“back”).^[2][3] The OED calls the wider relationship uncertain, while Pokorny, Boutkan and Watkins trace it to PIE *kreuk-, an extended form of *sker-, to turn, bend;^[2] Barnhart compares Middle Irish crúach, heap, and Latin crux, cross.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The back or spine: about 725, in Beowulf, in Barnhart, about 897 in the OED.^[3][6]

Semantic evolution

The original sense, back, predominant in Middle English, became archaic in the 17th century and is obsolete.^[2][6] Already in Old English it meant the top or crest of anything, as of waves, by resemblance to the backbone of a quadruped,^[2][6] and a long, narrow range of hills (938), implied in place names.^[6][2] The highest part of a roof, and the strip of ground thrown up between plough furrows, are from the late 14th century.^[2] The spelling with -dg- is first recorded before 1470.^[3][2] The verb is from 1440, of putting a ridgepole in a roof.^[3] Ridge-runner, a hillbilly of the southern Appalachians or Ozarks, is recorded by 1917.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 725 – hrycg, the back.^[3]
• 938 – a range of hills.^[6]
• late 14th century – a roof ridge.^[2]
• 1440 – the verb.^[3]
• before 1470 – spelling with -dg-.^[3]
• 1917 – ridge-runner.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A long, narrow raised strip of land, or a chain of hills or mountains.
2. Any long, narrow raised part, as on fabric or ploughed land.
3. The line along the top of a roof where two slopes meet.
4. A long, narrow zone of high atmospheric pressure.

Verb

1. To form into or mark with ridges.

Word family

• ridged
• ridgelike

Related words

• ridgepole
• rucksack

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press