▪ I. rigging, (vbl.) n.1 Sc. and north. dial.
(ˈrɪgɪŋ)
Also 4 ryggyng, 5–6 -ynge, 6 riggyng (riging), 7 -inge; 6 riggein, 6, 8–9 riggen, 7 -ine, -an, 8–9 riggin.
[f. rig n.1 or v.1: cf. ridging vbl. n.]
1. a. The ridge or roof of a building; also, the making of a ridge or ridges (rare).
| 1399 Mem. Ripon (Surtees) III. 130 In salario j hominis temporantis lutum pro ryggyng pro prædicta domo. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 433/2 Ryggynge of howsys, porcacio. 1513 Douglas æneis xii. iii. 48 The hicht and hedis of the towris, The wallis all and howsis ryggyngis. 1533 Bellenden Livy v. x. (S.T.S.) II. 176 Seand þe stanis and sclatis cassin be þe wemen & servandis of þe riggingis of þe housis. 1641 Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 60 On the toppe of all hee layeth noe thatch, but onely loose strawe, which hee calleth the rigginge. 1724 Ramsay No my ain House i, This is no my ain house, I ken by the rigging o't. 1785 Burns Vision 18, I sat..And heard the restless rattons squeak About the riggin. 1861 Quinn Heather Lintie (1863) 155 Oor wa's are only ae brick thick, Rent frae the riggin' doon. 1894 Crockett Lilac Sunbonnet 277 Up to the rigging of the house he went and then along it. |
| fig. 1821 Scott Pirate vii, Though my master be a stranger, and no just that tight in the upper rigging. |
b. attrib., as rigging-stone, rigging-tree.
| 1573 Satir. Poems Reform. xxxix. 96 Of Daueis toure..Thay *riggein stanes cum tumland ouir the trinschis. a 1670 Spalding Troub. Chas. I (1851) II. 398 He took doun the rigging stanes, cvngzie stanes, with the rest. 1829 J. Hunter Hallamsh. Gloss., Rigging-Stones, slates. 1896 Newcastle Courant 21 Mar. (E.D.D.), Covering..the house⁓leek on the rigging-stone. |
| 1788 Marshall Rur. Econ. Yorks. II. 348 *Riggen-tree, a piece of timber laid along the ridge of a roof to support the heads of the spars. 1855 Robinson Whitby Gloss. s.v., ‘The man astride the riggin tree,’ the person who holds a mortgage on the premises. |
2. The ridge or top of an elevated stretch of ground or raised path. Also attrib.
| 1540 Sc. Acts Jas. V (1814) II. 379 As þai ly towart þe north to þe heid of þe bank riggin. 1574 Cal. Laing Charters (1899) 225 Thaireftir plat north the riggen of the nethir quhyt hill. 1599 Extr. Aberd. Reg. (1848) II. 201 The rigging stane of the calsey that passis fra the croce towardis Johne Kemptis land. 1888 Addy Sheffield Gloss. 190. |
3. The back.
| 1513 Douglas æneis xiii. Prol. 148 Syne to me wyth his club he maid a braid, And twenty rowtis apoun my rigging laid. a 1585 Montgomerie Misc. Poems xxviii. 41 The rok,..With watring wauis and huge, Quhilk ramping ouer his rigging ryds. c 1690 Roxb. Ball. (1888) VI. 616 The Butter-box got many knocks, the riggans pay'd for a' then. 1721 Ramsay Lucky Spence ix, Wild hangy's tawz ye'er riggings saft Makes black and blae. 1814 in Hone Every-day Bk. II. 1115 The colt..scampered off sneering, with his tail on his ‘riggin’. 1898 E. W. Hamilton Mawkin x, It would maybe be more to my liking to bonnilie reesle the limmer's riggin with a stirrup leather. |
▪ II. ˈrigging, (vbl.) n.2
[f. rig v.2]
1. Naut. The action of equipping a vessel with the necessary shrouds, stays, braces, etc.
| 1486 Naval Accs. Hen. VII (1896) 16 Expenses & labor xiiij daies in rigging of the Kyngs said Ship. 1502 Arnolde Chron. (1811) 133 He was of councell of beyng of the sayde ship and of vitayling and rigging of her to the see. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. ii, His Lieuetenant had giuen order for the ful rigging of his gallies. 1624 Capt. Smith Virginia vi. 209 The building and rigging of ships of any proportion. 1726 Leoni Alberti's Archit. I. 91/1 The right construction and rigging of the Vessels. 1803 Naval Chron. IX. 243 The rigging of the Plantagenet..goes on briskly. |
b. The work of adjusting the wires, control surfaces, etc., of an aircraft.
| 1914 Flight 3 July 700/2 The list of lectures..are as follow..Rigging, and Training of Riggers. 1920 G. C. Bailey Compl. Airman xxii. 173 Rigging is the art of erecting the machine and so adjusting the various surfaces, controls, etc., that it is in a fit condition for flying. The upkeep of the machine is also part of the rigger's work. 1937 Discovery Sept. 293/1 A very elementary account of the rigging and truing-up of an aircraft. 1941 Norcross & Quinn Aviat. Mechanic viii. 345 (caption) Cadet class in rigging at Randolph Field, Tex. A biplane involves all the fundamentals of rigging. |
2. a. The ropes or chains employed to support the masts (standing rigging), and to work or set the yards, sails, etc. (running rigging).
| 1594 Marlowe & Nashe Dido v. i, I want both rigging for my fleet, And also furniture for these my men. 1626 Capt. Smith Accid. Yng. Seamen 3 All the Cordage,..and saile-cloth, and rigging of the shippe. a 1674 Clarendon Hist. Reb. xiii. §163 They were not able to give them farther chase, till their sailes and rigging could be repaired. 1715 Lond. Gaz. No. 5360/5 All their standing and running Rigging was mostly shot away. 1762 Falconer Shipwr. ii. 102 The flying rigging all aloft belay'd. 1836 W. Irving Astoria I. 136 A shed for the reception of the rigging, equipments, and stores of the schooner. 1869 Gibbon Robin Gray vii, The wind was whistling shrilly through the rigging. |
b. fig. spec. in phr. to climb the rigging: to become angry, lose one's temper. Naval slang.
| 1670 Dryden Conq. Granada ii. Prol. 18 That done, [he] bears up to th' prize, and views each limb, To know her by her rigging and her trimm. 1884 Pall Mall G. 17 Oct. 11/2 We do not want to know how their lower rigging [= skirts, etc.] is placed and set up. 1916 ‘Taffrail’ Carry On! 27 To get angry is to ‘get dizzy’ or ‘climb the rigging’. |
c. The system of ropes and wires used to support the structure of and distribute the load of an airship or aircraft.
| 1843 Mechanics' Mag. 8 Apr. 276/1 The direct resistance of the car, masts, and rigging, in the construction of aerial vehicles, will..probably put a limit to their velocity not much exceeding 24 to 30 miles per hour. 1900 J. M. Bacon By Land & Sky i. 12 The balloon on rising fouled a big elm, and for a moment remained caught high up among the boughs. Then it tore off a large branch entangled in the rigging. 1919 H. Shaw Text-bk. Aeronaut. xvii. 198 In the Parseval type [of airship], the car is suspended from a large elliptical rigging band just below the centre of the envelope. 1969 Gloss. Aeronaut. & Astronaut. Terms (B.S.I.) vii. 6 Rigging, the system of wires or cords and their attachments, by which the dead weight, or the main cable tension, is distributed over the hull or envelope. 1977 D. Beaty Excellency i. 7 The weekends he'd spent..servicing Cirrus engines and checking the rigging of Austers in return for free flying lessons. |
d. In full rigging lines. In a parachute, the system of cords which join the canopy to the harness.
| 1929 Aeronautics (H.M.S.O.) 109 The rigging is so parcelled that it is pulled out gradually, the part already released remaining taut and straight, the whole of the rigging emerging before the commencement of the withdrawal of the body. 1935 C. G. Burge Encycl. Aviation 489 Rigging Lines, the cords which transmit the load from the harness (or life lines) to the body of the parachute. 1952 Chambers's Jrnl. May 262/2 A bad exit can cause the rigging-lines to tangle and prevent the 'chute from opening. 1958 Listener 7 Aug. 202/2 There were casualties..due to tangling of the rigging lines, or faulty exit. 1972 Daily Tel. 16 May 3 The Prince of Wales was turned upside down when his feet caught in the rigging lines of his parachute as he hurtled seawards from 1,200ft during his controversial jump from an RAF plane. |
3. transf. Clothing, dress. Also with out.
| 1662 J. Wilson Cheats i. i, I ha'n't seen her since my last mischance; Must ev'n to her for new riggings. 1691 Satyr agst. French 6 So many sorts of Rigging dress the Elf, Himself sometimes does hardly know himself. 1729 Gay Polly 1, She is in most charming rigging; she won't cost you a penny, Sir, in clothes at first setting out. 1768 Phil. Trans. LX. 122 We who stayed at the factory began to put on our winter rigging. 1821 Scott Pirate viii, I have saved..my clothes—that the tall old woman in the dark rigging managed for me. 1865 W. G. Palgrave Arabia I. 5 Salim's own rigging out was of the same description. |
4. Equipment, outfit.
| 1849 Thoreau Week Concord Riv. Sunday 68 They had teams with rigging such as is used to carry barrels. 1877 Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 63 This claim has a splendid hydraulic rigging. |
5. attrib. or Comb., as rigging house, rigging mat, rigging room, rigging time, rigging victuals, rigging wages; rigging-cutter, rigging-stopper (see quots.).
| c 1599 in Bree Cursory Sk. (1791) I. 217 For the rigging wages of 200 men. Ibid., For rigging-victuals of 200 men. 1662–3 Pepys Diary 7 Jan., Commanders did never heretofore receive any pay for the rigging time, but only for sea⁓time. 1669 R. Eastwood in St. Papers, Dom. 1668–9, 593 We will lay the floor of the rigging-house this week. 1794 Rigging & Seamanship 181 Rigging is..prepared..in a rigging-house. 1863 P. Barry Dockyard Econ. 108 Eleventh in order stand the rigging-houses. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Rigging-Mats, those which are seized upon a vessel's standing rigging, to prevent its being chafed. Ibid., Rigging-stoppers..are used when the shrouds, stays, or backstays are stranded in action, or in a gale [etc.]. 1870 Pall Mall G. 17 Oct. 6 The fire broke out..in the fitting and rigging rooms. 1884 Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl., Rigging Cutter, an apparatus invented to cut the rigging of sunken vessels. |
6. rigging-loft. a. (See quot. 1867.)
| 1821 Scott Pirate xviii, I love to see my rigging-loft well stocked with goods. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Rigging-Loft, a long room or gallery in a dockyard, where rigging is fitted..to be in readiness for the ship. 1894 Labour Commission Gloss., Rigging lofts, the workshops on shore, in which the ship's gear is fitted for use. |
b. The space above a theatre-stage from which the scenery is manipulated. U.S.
| 1883 Harper's Mag. Nov. 879 Rigging Loft 90 ft. above stage. 1888 Scribner's Mag. Oct. 438 Looking upward from the floor of the stage, he would call them [the beams] the gridiron; standing on them, he would speak of them as the rigging-loft. |
▪ III. ˈrigging, (vbl.) n.3
[f. rig v.6 + -ing1.]
The action of the verb rig6; trickery, swindling; ragging or teasing; manipulation of prices; electoral fraud.
| 1839, etc. [see thimblerig v.]. 1912 H. Croly Marcus A. Hanna 460 He was constantly on the lookout for a chance to joke about the peccadilloes of his friends. There were few of them who escaped this kind of rigging. 1932 Sun (Baltimore) 27 Apr. 15/7 His general chronicle of stock-price ‘rigging’. 1946 Ibid. 27 Dec. 1/8 One of the sharpest breaks came in New York and Chicago wholesale butter markets... Much of the mystery surrounding the break in New York, where charges of ‘rigging’ had been heard, was removed. 1959, 1961 [see ballot-rigging s.v. ballot n.1 4]. 1980 G. M. Fraser Mr American xxii. 430 It isn't rigging, you see. You couldn't rig a British judge and jury nowadays. |