rig English · revision 15401

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1489}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɹɪɡ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|riggen]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) originally a nautical word of obscure origin,^(Etymonline) probably from a Scandinavian source,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) compare [[da|rigge|t=to equip]], [[no|rigge]] and [[sv|rigga|t=to rig, harness]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) though these may themselves be from English.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To fit a ship with masts, sails and ropes: about 1489, in Caxton's translation of ''Blanchardyn and Eglantine'', in Barnhart, the late 15th century in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Rigging is from 1594.^(Barnhart 1988) To dress or fit out with something is by the 1590s,^(Etymonline) and to set in working order by the 1620s.^(Etymonline) The noun, the arrangement of a ship's masts and sails, is from 1822,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) clothing or costume from 1843 (in ''Tom Brown's School Days'', 1857),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) a horse-drawn vehicle from 1831, a truck from 1851, and drilling apparatus for wells from 1875.^(Etymonline) The slang sense, to arrange results fraudulently, as ''rig an election'', is attested from 1938, perhaps from a different word, rig, a trick or swindle (1775), earlier sport or ridicule (1725), of unknown origin;^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) ''to rig the market'' was a 19th-century stock-exchange phrase.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1489 – to rig a ship.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1594 – rigging.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1725 – rig, banter (noun).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1822 – the rig of a ship.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1851 – a truck.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1938 – to rig, fix results.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To fit a ship with [[sail|alt=sails]], [[mast|alt=masts]] and [[rigging]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To set up or put together, especially quickly or makeshift: ''rig up a shelter''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To manipulate dishonestly: ''rig an election''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To dress or fit out.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The arrangement of masts and sails on a sailing vessel.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Equipment for a particular purpose, especially an [[oil rig]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(US)'' A truck or tractor-trailer.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[jury-rig]]

+ * [[rigger]]

+ * [[unrig]]

+ * [[thimblerig]]

+ * [[Bermuda rig]]

+ * [[drill rig]]

+ * [[gaff rig]]

+ * [[Marconi rig]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[rigging]]

+ * [[ridge]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In northern dialect a different rig, from Old English [[m|ang|hrycg]], means a ridge, back or strip of ploughed land (compare [[ridge]]).^(MWU 2024)^(OED 1989)^(Wright 1898) Trench notes that a rig was once a wanton person rather than a feat, as in Cowper's ''John Gilpin'' (''running such a rig'').^(Trench 1859)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}