ridge English · revision 7677

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=gem-pro *hrugjaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɹɪd͡ʒ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English rigge, rugge, [[inh|ang|hrycg|t=back of a man or beast]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) probably reinforced by Old Norse [[m|non|hryggr|t=back, ridge]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from Proto-Germanic *hrugjaz,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) source also of Old Saxon hruggi, Dutch [[m|nl|rug]] and German [[m|de|Rücken|t=back]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) 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;^(Etymonline) Barnhart compares Middle Irish crúach, heap, and Latin crux, cross.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The back or spine: about 725, in ''Beowulf'', in Barnhart, about 897 in the OED.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The original sense, back, predominant in Middle English, became archaic in the 17th century and is obsolete.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Already in Old English it meant the top or crest of anything, as of waves, by resemblance to the backbone of a quadruped,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and a long, narrow range of hills (938), implied in place names.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The highest part of a roof, and the strip of ground thrown up between plough furrows, are from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) The spelling with -dg- is first recorded before 1470.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The verb is from 1440, of putting a ridgepole in a roof.^(Barnhart 1988) ''Ridge-runner'', a hillbilly of the southern Appalachians or Ozarks, is recorded by 1917.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – hrycg, the back.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 938 – a range of hills.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 14th century – a roof ridge.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1440 – the verb.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1470 – spelling with -dg-.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1917 – ridge-runner.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A long, narrow raised strip of land, or a chain of [[hill|alt=hills]] or mountains.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Any long, narrow raised part, as on [[fabric]] or ploughed land.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The line along the top of a [[roof]] where two slopes meet.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A long, narrow zone of high [[atmospheric]] pressure.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To form into or mark with ridges.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ridged]]

+ * [[ridgelike]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ridgepole]]

+ * [[rucksack]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}