▪ I. rig, n.1
Also 4–6 ryg, 6 rigge, 7– rigg.
[Northern and Sc. form of ridge n.1]
1. The back, in man or animals; = ridge n.1 1.
| a 1300 Havelok 1775 Bernard stirt up, þat was ful big, And caste a brinie up-on his rig. a 1352 Minot Poems (ed. Hall) vii. 81 Ilk Inglis man on oþers rig Ouer þat water er þai went. a 1400–50 Alexander (Dubl.) 775* Som þar riggez owt rytte & som þar ribbez rent. c 1450 Holland Howlat 835 The Tuchet gird to the Golk,..Raif his taile fra his rig. 1513 Douglas æneis xi. xv. 104 His taill, that on hys ryg befor tymes lay, Vnder hys waymb [he] lattis fall. 1581 Rec. Elgin (New Spald. Cl.) I. 162 That all flescheris..present their haill fleschis to the mercat haill oncuttit in the rig or ony vther part. 1718 Ramsay Christ's Kirk Gr. iii. xii, To try the pith o's rigg and reins, They gart him cadge this pack. 1846– in northern dial. glossaries. 1889 M. Peacock Taales Linkisheere 59 If I'd wool upo' my rig, saame as sheep hes. |
2. = ridge n.1 4 (4 b). Freq. in place-names in the north of England and south of Scotland.
| c 1190 Liber de Melros I. 46 Pratum..in feudo de Inner⁓wic subtus Brunrig. a 1250 Ibid. 219 Usque ad fossatum de Grenrig.] |
| 1375 Barbour Bruce xix. 308 Our ane hye ryg thai saw rydand Toward thame evyn a battell braid. 1513 Douglas æneis Wks. 1874 II. 284 Thar lyis.., amyd the sey, a hirst or ryg of craggy rolkis. 1587 Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 968/1 Entering with the same into Scotland, [he] was incountered at Halidon rig by the earle of Arraine. 1702 Thoresby Diary (1830) I. 380 The Roman rig or ridge, which passeth by it in its course. 1715 Pennecuik Tweeddale 21 Then..below Kirkhouse..The Riggs and the Know of Traquair. 1788 W. Marshall Rur. Econ. Yorksh. II. 348 Rigg,..a long narrow hill. 1817 Scott Rob Roy xviii, I hae taen the bent ower the Otterscrape-rigg. 1896 Snowden Web of Weaver i, The black crags upon the moor rig. |
3. Agric. = ridge n.1 5 (cf. corn-rig, harvest-rig, lea-rig). Also, the elevation between each pair of plough-furrows in a ploughed field.
For examples of the phrases rig and balk, rig and fur(row, rig and rean, etc., see Eng. Dial. Dict.
| 1513 Douglas æneis vi. xiv. 96 Quhair thow thi riggis telis for to saw. 1573 Satir. Poems Reform. xlii. 729 Quhidder were it better..Till labour ane of them onlie,.. Or in ilk steding teill ane Rig. 1639 Horn & Rob. Gate Lang. Unl. xxxii. §391 As he layeth it up into rigs, with the one hand hee holdeth the plough-handle.., with the other the plough⁓staffe. 1681 S. Colvil Whigs Supplic. (1751) 72 Thistles with corn grow on the riggs, And rogues may lurk among the Whigs. 1783 Burns Rigs o' Barley ii, I kiss'd her owre and owre again, Amang the rigs o' barley. 1820 Blackw. Mag. VII. 265 Dibbled in rigs and furrows like beans and potatoes. 1834 Penny Cycl. II. 224/1 Ploughing..in lands or stitches, as they are called in England, and, in Scotland, riggs. 1881 Blackmore Cristowell xxxiii, Mrs. Sage was glad indeed to see Betty Cork come up the rigs. |
b. As a measure of land. = ridge n.1 5 b.
| 1541 Rec. Elgin (New Spald. Cl.) I. 59 William Malcome protestit that he hes rycht to ane rig of land liand on the vast syid of Merevall. 1589 Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees, 1860) 167, I give to..my servantt, thre buttes or rigges of land. 1681 Sc. Acts, Chas. II (1814) VIII. 295 Other two Riggs of land thereof lyand contigue in the field called the Gallowbank. 1720 Ramsay Rise & Fall of Stocks 51 Some lords and lairds sell'd riggs and castles. 1724 ― Tea-t. Misc. (1733) II. 122 Woods and parks And castles and riggs. a 1796 Burns Country Lassie 33 Gear will buy me rigs o' land. 1814 Scott Wav. lxvii, I now wish..I could have left Rose the auld hurley-house, and the riggs belanging to it. 1884 Pall Mall G. 10 May 1/2 A cottar..paying perhaps five or ten shillings to the crofter for the use of a ‘rig’ or two of potatoes. |
c. The shearers engaged in reaping a ridge.
| 1786 Har'st Rig xxiii, The next rig redds them to take care To cut their fur. 1897 Pryde Queer Folk 168 Each rig or company..of shearers tries to get before the others. |
4. a. The centre line of a web of cloth, along which it is folded; the line of a fold in cloth, as contrasted with the free edge.
| 1469 Sc. Acts, Jas. III (1814) II. 95 It is thocht expedient þat in tyme cummyn all wolen clatht be met be the Rig, and nocht be þe selwich. 1862 C. C. Robinson Dial. Leeds Gloss. s.v., When cloth is folded, or doubled up, and cuttled, the two extremities are called respectively the ‘rig’ and the ‘list’. |
b. The top of a roof; = ridge n.1 3.
| 1570 Levins Manip. 118 Y⊇ Rig of a house, culmen. 1854 A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss., Rig or Rig-Piece, the top of a roof, the ridge of a building. a 1864 Clare Rem. (1873) 215 The sparrow on the cottage rig. |
† c. The shoulder of an arrow-head. Obs.—1
| 1545 R. Ascham Toxoph. (Arb.) 149 To drawe..alwayes after one fashion vntil you come to the rig or shouldring of ye head, is best. |
d. A rib in a stocking; esp. in rig and fur (transf. from 3), used attrib. or as adv.
| 1822 Galt Sir A. Wylie x, He had on a pair o' dark-blue..rig-and-fur..worsted stockings. 1838 Holloway Prov. Dict., Rig,..a rib in a stocking. 1854 A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss., Rig and Fur, ribbed; as ‘rig and fur'd stockings’. 1855 Robinson Whitby Gloss. 154 ‘Do you knit your stockings rig and fur?’ that is, with an alternate rib and indent longways. |
5. Comb., as rig-back, the back; rig-band = ridge-band; rig-length, the length of a ridge of land; rig-piece (see 4 b); rig-rope (see quot. c 1700); rig-tile = ridge-tile; rig-tow = rig-rope; rig-tree = ridge-tree.
For other combs. in dial. use see Eng. Dial. Dict.
| 1796 Lauderdale Poems 62 To lay Britannia flat On her *rig back. c 1817 Hogg Tales & Sk. VI. 134 He..struck a third on the rigback, where no leister can pierce a fish. |
| 1408–9 Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 607 Carteharnas,..belybandes et *Rygbandes. |
| 1661 Sc. Acts, Chas. II (1814) VII. 225/2 The said burgh..is within a *rig lenth to the same old and rwinous burgh. 1790 Morison Poems 6 (E.D.D.), He'll wi' ease a rigg length rin. c 1800 A. Carlyle Autobiogr. (1860) 138 That part of it..was divided into three shots, as they were called, or rigg lengths. |
| c 1700 Kennett in MS. Lansd. 1033 fol. 323 A *Rig-rope, the rope that is fastned to the rods of a cart or waggon and goes over the saddle of the Fillar horse. Westmorl. 1805 Stagg Epit. Burns xvi, A rig-reape, braugham, pair o' heams. |
| c 1460 Fabric Rolls York Minster (Surtees) 35 In lx *rygtiell emptis de eodem Willelmo, 20 d. 1484 Nottingham Rec. III. 230, iij rigg tyles þat were tiled apon the Mercerie. |
| c 1310 Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 511 Pro carecta Prioris et viij Wamb⁓toues et *Rigtoues. 1313–4 Ibid. 512 Rigtowes et Wambe⁓towes. |
| 1672 O. Heywood Diaries (1882) I. 289 We had busy work in laying our *rig-tree. 1703 Thoresby Let. to Ray (E.D.S.) s.v. Bawks, A prick-post under the rig-tree. 1889 Tennyson Owd Roä lviii, When the rigtree was tummlin' in. |
▪ II. rig, n.2 Now dial.
Also 4 ryg(e, 7–9 rigg.
[? a. ON. hregg storm and rain.]
A storm, tempest, strong wind. In later use chiefly in Michaelmas rigs.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 354, I sende out by-lyue Such a rowtande ryge þat rayne schal swyþe. Ibid. 382 For neuer cowþe stynt Þe roȝe raynande ryg & þe raykande wawez. 1603 Owen Pembrokeshire (1892) 74 Vpon springe tydes, or after great Riggs of the sea. Ibid. 75 With Tempest, and Riggs of the sea. 1745 Mrs. Delany Life & Corr. (1861) II. 374 As Michaelmass ‘riggs’ (or winds) have an ill name, we think it best to defer our journey to October. 1796 Burke Regic. Peace iii. Wks. II. 331 Appearing..before the riggs of old Michaelmas were yet well composed, and when the inclement storms of winter were approaching. 1836 Wilbraham Chesh. Gloss. (ed. 2), Rig, a strong blast of wind. The storms which usually prevail about the time of the autumnal equinox are called Michaelmas Riggs. |
▪ III. rig, n.3
Also rigg.
= ridgel, riggald. Also attrib., as rig-horse.
| c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 54 Late at eve thou wolt unspere the gate, And grope at morwe if riggis bak be wett. 1578 Nottingham Rec. IV. 181 No butcher shalle put in enye rigges into ye medows. 1702 Lond. Gaz. No. 3852/4 One side of his Cod looks like a Rig. 1705 Ibid. No. 4125/4 A light black Rig Horse, one Stone come down on the near side of his Cod. 1851 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XII. ii. 431 Three out of the four [sheep]..were, indeed, what are termed ‘riggs’, or were only half-castrated. 1881 Greener Gun 509 Ox-deer, or ‘heaviers’, and rigs are in season with the yeld-hinds till the end of January. |
▪ IV. rig, n.4 Now dial.
Also 6 ryg, rigg, 6–7 rigge.
[Of obscure origin: cf. rig v.4]
A wanton girl or woman.
| 1575 Gamm. Gurton iii. iii, Nay, fy on thee thou rampe, thou ryg, with al that take thy part. 1598 E. Guilpin Skial. (1878) 49 My Muse shall play the rig Once in her dayes, but shee shall quittance thee. a 1618 J. Davies (Heref.) Wittes Pilgr. Wks. (Grosart) II. 49/2 The most voluptuous ouer⁓wanton Rigge, Proud Plentie, scornes meeke Pieties Woman-hood. 1650 Fuller Pisgah iv. vi. 110 Let none condemn them for Rigs, because thus hoiting with boys. 1694 Motteux Rabelais, Prognost. v, Those whom Venus is said to rule, as Punks, Jills, Flirts,..Misses, Cats, Riggs. 1829 Brockett N.C. Gloss. (ed. 2), Rig, a female light in her carriage, a wanton. 1886 Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. s.v., Proper rig her is, an' no mistake. |
▪ V. rig, n.5 slang or colloq.
[Of obscure origin. For dialect variations of meaning and phrasing see the Eng. Dial. Dict.]
1. Sport, banter, ridicule. Chiefly in phr. to run (one's) rig(s) upon (another), to make sport or game of, to banter unsparingly. Now dial.
| 1725 New Cant. Dict., Rig, Game, Diversion, Ridicule. 1753 A. Murphy Gray's Inn Jrnl. No. 25 You have been very facetious all Night,—you have run your rig upon me. 1802 Spirit Publ. Jrnls. VI. 113 I'll tell thee, Dear Jack, without nonsense or rig, Why I'm constantly seen in this old flaxen wig. 1814 in Nichols Lit. Anecd. 18th C. (1816) VIII. 543 You are always running your rig upon me, and calling me stupid. 1840 Thackeray Yellowpl. Mem. (1869) 330 Mr. Deuceace, don't you be running your rigs upon me. |
2. A trick, scheme, or dodge; a method of cheating or swindling. (Cf. racket n.3 3.) rig sale, a sale by auction under false pretences.
| 1775 in Farmer Musa Pedestris (1896) 55 I'm up to all your knowing rigs. 1796 Grose's Dict. Vulgar T. (ed. 3) s.v., I am up to your rig; I am a match for your tricks. c 1830 Frauds of London 12 (Thimble-riggers) The rig is practised at fairs, at races, or on public roads. 1851 Chamb. Jrnl. XV. 102 The ‘Rig’ Sale. Ibid. 105 Sometimes the Rig..is only confined to one or two rooms, or to a certain species of goods. 1894 Maskelyne Sharps & Flats 194 The ‘rig is worked’; or in other words, the swindle is perpetrated, by means of a dealing-box. |
b. = corner n. 14.
| 1877 Giffen Stock Exch. Sec. 46 The operations of such syndicates are usually accompanied by market manœuvres which are described generically by the name of ‘rigs’. 1897 Westm. Gaz. 9 April 2/3 When a man first gets into his hands the whole stock of any particular article and then goes into the market and secures contracts for more than exists, that is what is called a ‘rig’ or a ‘corner’. |
3. A frolic or prank; an act of a mischievous or wanton kind; a ‘game’.
| 1811 Sporting Mag. XXXVII. 75 War cannot..be styled a sporting rig; why then, I answer, it is a fashionable rig. a 1845 Barham Ingol. Leg. Ser. iii. Wedding-Day, Don't grudge them their jigs, And their frolics and ‘rigs’. 1866 Cornh. Mag. Nov. 620 Everybody says that she is as proud as Lucifer; and, after all, nobody knows what rigs she has been up to. |
b. In phr. to run a (or the) rig, to run (one's) rigs, to play pranks, to run riot.
| 1782 Cowper Gilpin xxv, He little dreamt, when he set out, Of running such a rig! 1797 B. Hamilton in Beddoes Contrib. Phys. & Med. Knowl. (1799) 315 To run the rig with the boys in the street in place of going on my errand. 1818 Scott in Lockhart Life IV. 185 While Tom marks out a dyke or drain.., one's fancy may be running its ain riggs in some other world. 1886 Mrs. E. Lynn Linton Paston Carew xxv, When I'm gone I sha'n't be none the wiser if you go wrong and run your rigs as you have done. |
▪ VI. rig, n.6
[f. rig v.2 Cf. Norw. and Swed. rigg, which may be from English.]
1. Naut. The arrangement of masts, sails, etc., on a vessel. Also [infl. by Da. rig, Norw., Sw. rigg], = rigging (vbl.) n.2 2.
| 1822 Scoresby in Brewster Nat. Magic vi. (1832) 144, I could distinguish by a telescope every sail, the general rig of the ship, and its particular character. 1856 ‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Rural Sports ii. viii. i. §4. 462/2 The rig suited to very small river boats. 1888 L. A. Smith Music of Waters 222 Out in Pamerent in Holland, There lay a brig so old; Worn out was her hull, And worn out was her rig. 1889 Musical Times 1 July 394/2 On page 222 she uses the word ‘rig’ as ‘rigging’, whereas even a landsman knows the difference. 1897 F. T. Bullen Cruise ‘Cachalot’ 3 As old-fashioned in her rig as in her hull. 1903 Rudder Feb. 52/1 Mr. Crowninshield has changed the overhangs slightly..and has put on a slightly larger rig. 1934 Yachting Monthly LVI. 463/1 The weight and center of gravity of the rig must be considered. |
| fig. 1878 Emerson Misc. Wks. (Bohn) III. 399 More forward and forthright [are] his whole build and rig than the Englishman's. |
2. colloq. Costume, outfit, style of dress. Also rig-up and rig-out; rig of the day (Naut.), the uniform to be worn on any particular day.
| 1843 T. C. Haliburton Attaché I. xii. 218 Congregations are rigged out in their..bran new clothes, silks, satins.., and all sorts of rigs. 1853 ‘P. Paxton’ Stray Yankee in Texas xxvii. 267 Here was a rig for a July day in Texas, with the thermometer at 105° in the shade! 1857 Hughes Tom Brown i. v, You'll do very well as to rig, all but that cap. 1884 G. Allen Philistia II. 28 Two sturdy British holiday-seekers, in..regular Alpine climbing rig. 1896 Mrs. Caffyn Quaker Grandmother 283 Either she's mad or in a peck of trouble, to come..in this rig-up. 1914 [see number n. 5 c]. 1948 Partridge Dict. Forces' Slang 155 The rig-of-the-day. The dress that is to be worn for the day is ‘piped’ with ‘Hands to breakfast and clean; rig-of-the-day, number—whatever it is’. 1961 F. H. Burgess Dict. Sailing 154 Out of the rig of the day, incorrectly dressed. |
3. a. Apparatus for well-sinking; spec. = oil rig s.v. oil n.1 6 e.
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. III. s.v. Well-boring Tools. 1883 Cent. Mag. July 329/2 [The boiler] usually stands at some distance from the derrick, so that it will not be injured in case the rest of the ‘rig’ is destroyed by fire. 1885 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 716/2 When the location of a well has been determined, a derrick or ‘rig’ is built, which consists of the derrick itself and a small house for an engine. 1946 E. Hodgins Mr. Blandings builds his Dream House i. vi. 89 Mr Blandings' well was being drilled... The rig's motor roared and stank. 1957 Economist 21 Dec. 1080/3 During 1958 test wells will be drilled in the Benin area in Western Nigeria..; five rigs are now drilling. 1974 E. Ambler Dr. Frigo i. 46 It's not the same as ordinary offshore drilling. The rigs have to be different. 1975 Daily Tel. 24 May 11/4 Some gas production rigs built up to 10 years ago for the southern North Sea had designs which underestimated the full vigour of the waves. |
b. An equipage; a horse vehicle. Hence, any vehicle; spec. a lorry, a truck. orig. and chiefly N. Amer.
| 1831 A. Stoddard Diary 30 Nov. in Michigan Hist. Mag. (1927) XI. 472 Breakfast swallowed we stepped into our next rig, which was a lumber wagon. 1872 ‘Mark Twain’ Roughing It xlvi. 325 I've heard tell of carriages all my life... I mean to have the nobbiest rig that's going. 1885 Trans. Amer. Philol. Assoc. XVI. 110 One part of the team (or ‘rig’, as they say west of the Hudson). 1894 C. L. Johnstone Canada 64, I hired a ‘rig’ or ‘buckboard’ for 3 dollars to take me as far as Carlton. Ibid., Springless vehicles, these rigs. 1931 H. F. Pringle Theodore Roosevelt i. i. 4 A rig had been..summoned from a near-by stable. 1938 Amer. Speech XIII. 307 Rig, also a designation for any bus. 1938 Commercial Car Jrnl. June 60/3 Rig, a truck. 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §766/2 (Bus, taxicab, truck.)..oilcan, rig, tub. 1957 J. Kerouac On Road (1958) 16 A great big tough truckdriver..got his rig under way. 1963 Amer. Speech XXXVIII. 45 Rig.., a tractor and semitrailer; sometimes just a tractor. 1969 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. lii. 35 Rig, any truck on the fire fighting force. ‘Back the rig in.’ 1970 J. H. Gray Boy from Winnipeg 63 The [fire brigade] horses were kept in box stalls behind the rigs which were all parked facing the street. 1972 J. Minifie Homesteader x. 85 When the last rig had pulled out my father went down to the barn. 1974 Times 11 Feb. 6/7 Mr Nixon came on the air..to urge the drivers to get their ‘big rigs’ back on the road. 1976 Daily Tel. (Colour Suppl.) 16 July 10/1 No CBer ever drives. He cooks or pushes a rig. 1976 L. Deighton Twinkle, Twinkle Little Spy xxiii. 225 The gargantuan trailer-trucks rolled south to Timbuktu in convoy, enough drivers in each rig to eat and sleep in relays. 1977 Hot Car Oct. 76/2 Pulled into Steeple Claydon early Sunday morning and looked out across nearly 250 vans, trucks, rods and rigs. |
c. Any apparatus or device.
| 1868 Rep. Iowa Agric. Soc. 1867 174, I consider the Victor mill & Cook's evaporator the best rig for making sirup profitably from cane. 1950 Engineering 10 Mar. 265/2 Regrinding is extremely simple; the drill steel is placed on a rig and the tip is ground either by a pedestal grinder or by a hand grinder. 1973 Sci. Amer. Nov. 1/3 (Advt.), Before a new seat enters production, its suspension must survive 300,000 load changes on a vibrating rig. 1977 Amer. Speech 1975 L. 65 Rig n, hypodermic needle used to inject drugs into a vein. ‘A rusty rig will give you hepatitis.’ 1979 Sci. Amer. Dec. 52/1 Intravenous infusion, which is normally done in a hospital with an elaborate rig involving bottles of fluid, connecting tubes and cannulas. |
d. An amateur's radio transmitter and receiver; also, a telegraph, a radar set, or the like.
| 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §810/2 Telegraph, ethegraph, kid, Old Betsy, rig, she. 1960 Daily Progress (Charlottesville, Va.) 29 Sept. 39/3 Hams have their own slang terms. ‘Rig’ is what they call their sending and receiving equipment and ‘shack’ is the name of the room or structure housing their sets. 1966 M. Woodhouse Tree Frog xxi. 155 This [radar] rig is operational two per cent of the time. 1976 A. Hope Hi-Fi Handbk. 10 After the purchase of a house and a car, an impressive hi-fi rig may well be the next most expensive item ever bought by a householder. 1977 Rolling Stone 30 June 118/4 But by the time you added a booster amplifier, and perhaps a separate cassette unit—not to mention a CB rig—you ended up with no leg room. 1978 Observer 18 June 4/2 The normal range of a regular watt rig is between five and ten miles. |
e. The penis. coarse slang.
| 1964 Amer. Folk Music Occasional i. 12 There is a certain latitude in the approach to Negro blues where women are sweet food..and sex is hard, virile labor (I got a big tall rig, it drills way down deep). 1973 M. Amis Rachel Papers 92 All weekend I cried,..thought of ways of committing suicide,..considered lopping off my rig with a razor-blade. |
4. attrib., as (sense 3 a) rig crew, rig medic (colloq.), rig operator.
| 1972 L. M. Harris Introd. Deepwater Floating Drilling Operations xviii. 191 The shortage of personnel is not limited only to rig crews. 1977 Observer 24 Apr. 1/6 The rig crew was about to install a safety valve on the top of a production pipe. |
| 1977 Lancet 8 Oct. 751/1 Resuscitation during this period is the responsibility of a sick-bay attendant (‘rig medic’) or, if life-supporting measures are required in a pressure chamber, of a suitably trained diver. |
| 1975 Offshore Aug. 51/1 A rig operator, on the average, will call on the divers two or three times a month for inspection, repairs or retrieval of lost equipment. |
▪ VII. rig, n.7 dial.
(rɪg)
Also rigg.
[Perh. f. wrig v., as the fish is remarkable for the way it twists itself round the line on which it is caught.]
The tope, Galeorhinus galeus, a shallow-water shark found in the eastern Atlantic and in the Mediterranean; in quot. 1963 = huss n.
| [1547 Act 1 Edw. VI vii. m. 5 pisces regał, viz' sturgions balenas catas porpec' delphinos regges graspes. 1549 Act 3 Edw. VI ii. m. 40 pisces regał videl{supt} sturgiones balenas cetas porpec' delphinos rigges graspes.] c 1700 in Newnes Encycl. Angling (1963) 90/2 Royal fish, viz. sturgeons, grampuses, whales, porpoises, dolphins, riggs and graspes, and generally whatsoever other fish having in themselves great and immense size or fat. 1887 Parish & Shaw Dict. Kentish Dial. 128 Rig, the common tope. Galeus vulgaris.—Folkestone. 1927 Glasgow Herald 7 Sept. 12/7 On the south-east coasts of England a species of small shark, known locally as ‘rigg’, is caught on strong lines baited with mackerel. 1963 [see huss n.]. |
▪ VIII. rig, v.1
Also 4–5 rygg-.
[f. rig n.1]
1. trans. = ridge v. 1.
| 1379 Mem. Ripon (Surtees) III. 102 In coopertura et tractacione dicti straminis cum eodem ryggand. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 433/2 Ryggyn howsys, porco. 1678 O. Heywood Diaries (1881) II. 187 Willm. Clay points, rigs his house. 1690 Burgery of Sheffield 246 Paid for poynting and rigging the Almshouse, 7s. 7d. |
2. = ridge v. 2. Also absol.
| 1853 W. Watson Poems 82 (E.D.D.), Her fertile braes are rigget by the ploughman lad. 1886 S.W. Linc. Gloss. s.v., They're beginning to rig for swedes. |
▪ IX. rig, v.2
Also 5–6 ryg(ge, 5–7 rigge (6 Sc. reg), 7–8 rigg.
[Of obscure origin. Norw. and Sw. rigga, Da. rigge, in nautical use, are prob. from English, but Norw. has also rigga to bind or wrap up, and Sw. dial. rigga på to harness (a horse); the precise relationship of these to the Eng. word is doubtful. Cf. also reek v.2]
1. a. trans. To make (a ship) ready for the sea; to fit out with the necessary tackle.
| c 1489 Caxton Blanchardyn liv. 221 He rigged certaine ships, wherein he and diuers of his Lordes embarqued them⁓selues. 1530 Palsgr. 691/2 He intendeth or it be aught longe to make sayle, for his shyppe is rygged all redy. 1575 Turberv. Venerie 2 Then did hee cause to be rygged and trimmed a greate number of shippes. 1608 E. Grimstone Hist. France (1611) 454 Hee rigges a great fleet of gallies to seize vpon the Islands. 1653 H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. vi. 14 After that he caused some of the vessels of the fleet to be rigged. 1738 Johnson London 247 Lest ropes be wanting..To rig another convoy for the king. 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1780) s.v. Girt-line, The girt-line is therefore the first rope employed to rig a ship. 1870 Bryant Iliad I. ii. 68 He rigged a fleet of ships and led on board A numerous host. |
| fig. 1637 Milton Lycidas 101 That fatall and perfidious Bark Built in th'eclipse, and rigg'd with curses dark. |
b. Const. with forth, out, up.
| 1567 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 546 To reg furth how mony schippis thai sall think meit. 1570–6 Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 109 At ech time that the King passeth over the sea, the Portes ought to rig up fiftie and seaven ships. 1593 Lodge Will. Longbeard (Hunterian Cl.) 52 Rigging out two warlike Gallies, he sailed with them into the great sea. 1626 Middleton Anything for Quiet Life i. i, Your lordship, minding to rig forth a ship To trade for the East Indies. 1665 Manley Grotius' Low-C. Wars 544 With a greater Fleet, which was to be built and rigged up in Spain. 1737 [S. Berington] Mem. G. de Lucca (1738) 29 He had made a Shift to rig out a small Vessel. |
c. In passive sense: To be rigged; to get rigged (afresh).
| 1614 in Birch Crt. & Times Jas. I (1849) I. 337 Eight of the king's ships are rigging and making ready for sea. 1688 3rd Coll. Papers rel. to Pres. Juncture of Affairs 1 Two of the Prince's principal Men of War were forced to new Rigg at Helversluse. 1794 Rigging & Seamanship 229 Ship's Pinnaces..sometimes..rig with a sliding-gunter. 1805 Collingwood 28 Oct. in Nicolas Disp. Nelson (1846) VII. 218 In the gale the Royal Sovereign and Mars lost their foremasts, and are now rigging anew. |
d. Aeronaut. (See quot. 1956.)
| 1909 Aero Man. 104 By rigging diagonal wires across top and bottom and across both sides, the entire frame of the glider will be rendered quite rigid. 1916 Aëronaut. Jrnl. XX. p. ii (Advt.), Steel wire strands & cords of galvanised or plated steel wire (for rigging aircraft). 1956 W. A. Heflin U.S. Air Force Dict. 443/1 Rig. 1. To assemble, adjust, and align the major components of an aircraft; specif., to assemble and align the airfoils or other surfaces of an aircraft. 2. To fit out an aircraft with control cables, bracing cables, pulleys, turnbuckles, and the like. 1978 Sci. Amer. Nov. 135/1 The Wrights also flew the machine as a glider, experimenting by rigging it with a dihedral angle. |
† 2. To make ready (an army). Obs.—1
| a 1513 Fabyan Chron. vii. ccxliv. 285 Wherefore he rygged his army, & drewe towarde theym. |
3. a. To dress, clothe, fit out or provide with clothes. Now colloq. or slang.
| 1534 More Comf. agst. Trib. ii. Wks. 1201/1 When he beholdeth him self richly appareled & y⊇ beggar rygged in his ragges. 1625 B. Jonson Staple of N. ii. v, P. Iv. Your Fortunate Princesse, Vncle, is long a comming. P. Ca. She is not rigg'd, Sir. 1689 Chancellor's Prep. for Trial in Harl. Misc. (1746) VIII. 603/1 New Liveries of the best Irish Frize, completely to rig a whole Regiment of his new⁓raised Teagues. 1721 Swift Epil. to Play Wks. 1751 VII. 182 We'll rig in Meath-Street ægypt's haughty Queen. 1774 Westm. Mag. II. 429 If they can't rigg a Captain—a Frenchman they'll dress. 1821 Sporting Mag. VIII. 111 The gentlemen were neatly rigged, and looked the thing to a T. 1854 A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss. s.v., ‘I'll board him, but I can't rig him,’ is often said by a master of his apprentice. |
| refl. 1662 Pepys Diary 7 Apr., While he was rigging him⁓self, he bid his man listen at the door. 1693 Humours Town 24 She hastens home, washes, new riggs, and seats herself. 1819 J. H. Vaux Mem. I. 241 The liberty-men were busily employed in rigging themselves..in their best togs. 1845 Alb. Smith Fort. Scattergood Fam. xxxi, Our hero rigged himself afresh in some rough nautical habiliments. |
| absol. 1813 Moore Twopenny Post Bag ii. 50 Else, though the P― be long in rigging [etc.]. 1831 Anne Royall Southern Tour 235 He told her..that she must rig up a little, while he went for me. |
b. Const. with out.
| c 1616 Beaum. & Fl. Four Plays, Triumph of Time Prol., All occupations..That serve to rig the body out with braverie. 1676 Wycherley Pl. Dealer iv. i, You shall see, how I have rigg'd my Squire out, with the remains of my shipwrack'd Wardrobe. 1730 Swift Death & Daphne Wks. 1751 X. 156 A Consult of Coquets below Was call'd, to rig him out a Beau. 1807–8 W. Irving Salmag. (1824) 47 Take of.. ribands, and artificial flowers, as much as will rig out the congregation of a village church. 1885 A. Brassey The Trades 504 Great were the efforts made to ‘rig-out’ the performers. |
| refl. 1673 R. Head Canting Acad. 107 She riggs her self out in the best manner she can. 1688 S. Penton Guardian's Instruction (1897) 28 He riggs himself out in a new Suit. c 1735 Fielding Fathers i. i, Once in seven years came up Madam in the stage coach, to..rig out herself and family. 1818 Lady Morgan Autobiog. (1859) 46 Intending to rig myself out in Paris, I have had to set myself up with an evening dress. 1888 Baring-Gould Crt. Royal xi, I allow you a quarter of an hour for rigging yourself out. |
4. a. To furnish or provide, to fit or fix up, with something. Also rarely without const.
| 1594 Nashe Unfort. Trav. Wks. (Grosart) V. 164 Ther⁓upon..her wardrop was richly rigd,..and presented she was..to the countesse. 1619 Fletcher Mons. Thomas iii. i, Your noble heart..Rigd round about with vertue. 1688 Holme Armoury iii. xviii. (Roxb.) 140/2 Termes used by Gunners... Rigging a peece, is to haue it fitted with all thing necessary for service. 1713 Derham Phys. Theol. 189 In others [the mouth is] strongly rigged with Jaws and Teeth; to gnaw, and scrape out their Food. 1820 Combe Syntax, Consol. ii, He could rig With friz and curl the Doctor's wig. 1841 P. Hawker Diary (1893) II. 198, I rigged up Charley Page of Hurst with powder and shot. 1878 Besant & Rice Celia's Arb. xxi, The Captain went round rigging up the curtains with brighter ribbons. |
b. To fit out in some way.
| 1679 Alsop Melius Inq. ii. iv. 286 The same Cardinal from these words..found out a Masse compleatly rigged out for Service. 1816 Scott Bl. Dwarf ii, And ye'll rig out the auld tower a bit? 1885 Manch. Exam. 16 June 4/6 It would be easy for Lord Salisbury to rig out half a dozen Administrations. |
5. a. To adjust or fix; to set in proper order for working. Chiefly Naut.
| 1627 Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. v. 18 It is proper to say, The Mast is well rigged, or the Yard is well rigged,..when all the Ropes are well sised to a true proportion of her burthen. 1745 P. Thomas Jrnl. Anson's Voy. 23 He..got down the broken Main-top-sail Yard, and got up and rigg'd another in its Place. 1748 Anson's Voy. iii. viii. 378 The Spaniards in a bravado rigged their sprit-sail-yard fore and aft likewise. 1836 Marryat Pirate iv, We must rig the pumps. 1860 All Year Round No. 66. 384 We rigged the machine, and set hotly to work. 1876 Voyle & Stevenson Milit. Dict., To Rig,..an expression made use of in fitting up a gyn or capstan for working, &c. |
b. Naut. To run out, draw in, a boom or stay.
| 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1780) s.v. Horse, The sailors..are loosing, reefing or furling the sails, rigging out the studding-sail booms, &c. 1841 R. H. Dana Seaman's Man. 14 When the breast-backstays are to be rigged in, cast off the lanyard. Ibid. 22 Rig the boom out until the inner sheave-hole is clear of the cap. 1882 Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 212 The boom is rigged in immediately the sail is canted clear. |
| intr. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 575 A boom called a ring-tail boom, which rigs in and out upon the main or driver boom. |
6. a. To fit up, esp. as an expedient or makeshift.
| 1829 Marryat F. Mildmay xv, I rigged jury-masts: I made sail on them. 1850 W. Scoresby Cheever's Whalem. Adv. iv. (1859) 60 An ingenious Frenchman..once rigged swivels in the heads of his boats. 1883 F. M. Crawford Dr. Claudius xvii, I have managed to rig a sort of table in my cabin at last. |
b. Const. out or up.
| 1823 J. Badcock Dom. Amusem. 69 Ships holds are well ventilated..by means of a sail, rigged out from the deck to below, like a funnel. 1841 B. Hall Patchwork II. v. 65 As if they had been rigging up a stage for Pantaloon. 1861 Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. iii, Outside these windows, Drysdale had rigged up hanging gardens. |
▪ X. † rig, v.3
Also 6 rigge.
[Of obscure origin.]
1. a. intr. To make search, to ransack.
| 1565 Golding Ovid's Met. i. (1593) 5 Eft they gan to digge, And in the bowels of the ground unsatiably to rigge For riches coucht and hidden. 1616 Chapman Homer's Hymn Hermes, Thou..Hast beene beseeging house and man together, Rigging and rifeling all waies. |
b. trans. To search, ransack, rifle (a house, etc.).
| 1579 Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 54 If he presume to enter our house, and rig euery corner, searching more then belongs to his office, we..turne him away. 1610 Women Saints 22 Her house..was rigged by them [sc. Goths]. 1635 R. N. tr. Camden's Hist. Eliz. ii. 151 Whereas I saw all things to be curiously searched and rigged, I commanded that Packet to be burnt. |
2. To make free with (another's goods); to take or carry away.
| 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 33 Some rigs thy plow, some milks thy cow. Ibid. 43 Some prowleth for fewel, and some away rig fat goose and the capon. |
3. To rob or despoil (one) of something.
| 1629 Wadsworth Pilgr. vii. 73 Some Chambermaids which hauing beene..well rigd of their maidenhead,..are sent ouer..to do penance. |
▪ XI. rig, v.4 Now dial.
Also 6 rigge, 9 rigg; 8–9 riggy (8 riggee).
[Cf. rig n.4]
intr. To play the wanton; to romp or climb about.
| 1570 Levins Manip. 119 To Rigge, lasciuire puellam. 1592 Lyly Midas i. ii, Indeed if thou shouldest rigge vp and downe in our iackets, thou woudst be thought a very tomboy. 1598 Florio, Treccolare, to rig vp and downe as a gixie wench. 1691 Ray N.C. Words (ed. 2) 59 Reul, to be rude: to behave ones self unmannerly, to Rig. 1746 Exmoor Scolding (E.D.S.) 56 Thee wut..colty, and hobby, and riggy, wi' enny Kesson Zoul. 1815 Hist. J. De Castro II. 12 Will you never leave off galloping, dancing, rigging, and romping amongst the boys and girls? 1838 Holloway Prov. Dict., To rig, to climb about; to get up and down a thing in wantonness or sport. 1876– in dial. glossaries (esp. of south-western counties). |
| transf. a 1613 Overbury A Wife, etc. (1638) 271 A young Pullet, who often rigging from her nest makes hot and cold beget rottennesse. |
▪ XII. † rig, v.5 Obs.—1
(See quot.)
Perh. the same as Brockett's ‘Rig, to perform the act of supersaliency only, to back’.
| 1619 Fletcher Wild Goose Chase iii. i, That this Bilbo-Lord shall reap that Maiden-head That was my due; that he shall rig and top her! |
▪ XIII. rig, v.6 slang or colloq.
[f. rig n.5]
1. trans. a. To hoax, play tricks on, befool.
Common in dialect use: see Eng. Dial. Dict.
| 1823 Examiner 652/1 One of the party..announced himself at the several houses of those who were to be rigged (as the phrase elegantly expresses it) in the quality of footman. |
b. To take to task; to rag or tease. U.S.
| 1892 Dialect Notes I. 231 Rig, to tell a joke on. ‘He rigged him good.’ 1899 A. H. Quinn Pennsylvania Stories 100, I rigged him about it once and he said he'd reform. |
2. To manage or manipulate in some underhand or fraudulent manner.
| 1851 Chamb. Jrnl. XV. 105/1 Frequently the plate is rigged; more frequently the pictures. 1885 Pall Mall G. 30 May 2/1 It is agreed to vote only for those names, and thus secure their return: this is what is termed ‘rigging the committees’. 1933 Lit. Digest 1 July 40/3 ‘It's in the bag’ is an expression..to designate that prize-fights or horse-races have been rigged. 1935 Sun (Baltimore) 30 Oct. 1/2 The way the ‘election’ was rigged made an opposing farmer seem a sap. 1955 Times 23 June 10/2 Mr. J. McShane..claimed that that meeting had been ‘rigged’ and that rank and file London dockers would not resume work on Monday. 1966 Wall St. Jrnl. 25 July 1 ‘Top 40’ record lists that allegedly are rigged by gifts of free records by the carload. 1967 W. Soyinka Kongi's Harvest 72, I did my best to rig the results in favour of the state co-operatives. |
3. a. to rig the market, to cause an artificial rise (or fall) of prices with a view to personal profit; also fig.
| 1855 T. Taylor Still Waters 13 We must rig the market. Go in and buy up every share that's offered. 1875 Jevons Money xvii. 210 About ten years ago it became the practice to rig the market as regards the shares of particular joint-stock banking companies. 1978 A. Ryan in Hookway & Pettit Action & Interpretation 76 The only question at issue here is whether we should treat his account of social interaction as a story about how we rig the market, or as a story about how we engage in putting on a good show. |
b. To send up (prices) artificially.
| 1884 Pall Mall G. 14 Feb. 5/2 Mexican Railway stock..is rigged up to a ridiculous extent. |