▪ I. ridge, n.1
(rɪdʒ)
Forms: α. 1 hrycg, hrygc (hryg-, hryc-), 3–4 rug, 4 reg; dat. 1 hrycge, 3–6 rugge (3, 5 ruge), 6 (9 dial.) rudge, 4–5 regge. β. 1 hricg, hric(c), hrig-, ricg, rihg; dat. hricge, hrigge, rh-, 4–6 rigge, rygge (5 ryge), 5–6 rydge, 6–7 ridg, 5– ridge. See also rig n.1
[Common Teut.: OE. hrycg, = OFris. (h)reg (mod.Fris. rêch, rich), MDu. ruc (Du. rug), ric, rec; also rugge, rigge, regge, MLG. rugge (LG. rügge, rüg), OHG. hrucci, rucki, etc. (MHG. rucke, rücke, G. rücken), ON. hryggr (Norw. and Sw. rygg, Da. ryg):—Teut. *hrugja-z, of uncertain relationship.
The normal ME. representative of OE. hrycg(e is rigge (later ridge), with the variants rugge (= rudge) in south-western dialects, and regge (= redge) in Kentish. The northern and Sc. form is rig n.1 In some cases it is uncertain which form is denoted by the spelling rigge.]
† 1. The back or spine in man or animals. Obs.
| α c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. i. 28 Ðonne ᵹebiᵹð þæt folc hira hrycg to hefeᵹum byrðenum. c 1000 ælfric Saints' Lives xxxiv. 1047 Þa ᵹeseah se halᵹa wer þæt þær sæt an deofol on þære cu hrycge. c 1205 Lay. 540 Þa Grickes..wenden him þeo rugges. Ibid. 1912 Corineus..breid Geomagog þat him þe rug for-berst. c 1290 Beket 1156 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 139 Opon is rugge is cope he bar. 1340 Ayenb. 116 Huanne þe uondere ous knokeþ ope þane reg..ase þe ilke þet ope þe regge of þe guode knyȝte smit [etc.]. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 177 Þe depnesse þat is from þe rugge to þe wombe. 1463 Ashby Prisoner's Refl. 27 Puttyng on me many fals lesyng, Whyche I must suffyr and bere on my ruge. |
| β c 1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 290 Ᵹif hors on hricge oððe on þam boᵹum awyrd sy. Ibid. III. 120 On þan hrigge. c 1205 Lay. 6718 Þe king aras..and burne he warp on rigge. a 1325 Prose Psalter xlix. 18 Þou kest my wordes byhynde rygge. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xxii. 287 Sholde no curiouse cloþe come on hus rygge. c 1425 Leg. Rood (1871) 202 All is rede, Ribbe and rigge, Þe bak bledeþ aȝens þe borde. 1470–85 Malory Arthur v. iv. 165 The dragon..smote the bore on the rydge whiche was x foote large fro the hede to the taylle. 1578 Lyte Dodoens 391 Let the backe or ridge be anoynted therewithal before, or at the first comming of the fittes of the Ague. 1581 Mulcaster Positions xxxvii. (1887) 157 Neither refusing the saddle on his ridg, to be rid on, neither the bit in his mouth. 1607 Topsell Serpents (1658) 599 Their gall..is forced to the mouth by certain veins under the ridge or back-bone. 1678 Butler Hud. iii. iii. 673 They rob'd me, and my Horse, And stole my Saddle,..And made me mount upon the bare-ridge. |
2. The top, upper part, or crest
of anything,
esp. when long and narrow.
a. Of the sea, waves, rising ground, hills, etc.
In
pl. passing into sense 4.
| Beowulf (Z.) 471 Sende ic..ofer wæteres hrycg ealde madmas. c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Thorpe) lxviii. 2 Com ic on sæs hricg. |
| 14.. Tretyce in Walter of Henley's Husb. (1890) 47 Þe corne þ{supt} is in þe ryge off þe lande. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §16 Make a depe holowe forowe in the rydge of the lande. 1555 Eden Decades (Arb.) 155 The rydgies also of these mountaynes are diuided with..valleis. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, i. i. 64, I would..meete him, were I tide to runne afoote Euen to the frozen ridges of the Alpes. 1665 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 11 Dancing upon the ridge of dreadful waves. 1669 Worlidge Syst. Agric. 275 The Ridge, the upper edge of a Bank, or other rising Land. 1737 [S. Berington] Mem. G. de Lucca (1738) 89 We were almost on the Ridge of Africa, which made it cooler than one can well believe. 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. xlix. V. 123 The Pentapolis..advanced into the midland country as far as the ridges of the Apennine. 1839 Thirlwall Greece xiv. II. 215 They..hastily retraced their march over the ridge of Tmolus. 1879 Browning Pheidippides 57 Such my cry as, rapid, I ran over Parnes' ridge. |
| fig. 1678 Dryden All for Love ii. i, Is this the Man who..Drives me before him, To the World's Ridge, and sweeps me off like Rubbish? 1823 Byron Juan xi. xxiii, Night was on the ridge Of twilight. 1878 Spurgeon Treas. Dav. Ps. cxxx. 5 As of one on the ridge of a journey, looking onward on his way. |
b. Of the back, or other parts of the body.
| c 1550 H. Lloyd Treas. Health T i, Mingle the joyce therof with oyle to anoynte the rigge of the backe. 1580 Blundevil Horsemanship iii. 24 b, Drawe his backe with a hot iron right out on both sides of the ridge of his backe. 1602 Marston Ant. & Mel. v. Wks. 1856 I. 60 A bush of furs on the ridge of his chinne. 1641 Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 1 Close tuppes are such as have both the stones in the ridge of the back. 1690 Blancard Lex. Med. 339 Isthmus.., the ridg of the nostrils. 1759 Johnson Idler No. 82 ¶5 The line that forms the ridge of the nose. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 185 The short bristles..gradually encrease in length, as they approach the ridge of the back. 1876 Swinburne Erechtheus 1374 The ridge of their necks as the wind-shaken mane on the ridges of waves. 1888 Harper's Mag. July 186, I made out the horns, neck, and the ridge of the back of a tremendous old bull. |
| fig. 1671 Woodhead St. Teresa i. xx. 129 This kind of Soul is..upon the very top, or ridge, as one may say, of itself. |
3. a. The horizontal edge or line in which the two sloping sides of a roof meet at the top; the uppermost part or coping of a roof.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Luke iv. 9 Ða lædde he hyne..& ᵹesette hine ofer þæs temples hricg [Hatton ricg]. |
| 1503 Hawes Examp. Virt. x. 178 A lytell brydge Not halfe so brode as a hous rydge. 1556 Recorde Castle Knowl. 114 A three cornered forme like the rygge of an house where tone syde lyeth flatte, and the other two leane a slope. 1607 Shakes. Cor. ii. i. 227 Leades [are] fill'd, and Ridges hors'd With variable Complexions; all agreeing In earnestnesse to see him. 1662 Gerbier Principles 9 A Chimney some two Foote higher than the Ridges of the Roof of a Building. 1726 Swift Gulliver ii. v, Here I sat for some Time,..expecting every Moment..to fall..and come tumbling..from the Ridge to the Eves. 1833 Loudon Encycl. Archit. §849 To cover the whole of the roofing with old sound plain tiles.., the hips, ridges, and eaves in mortar. 1876 W. P. Buchan Plumbing iii. 16 Zinc ridges are made of sheet zinc. 1884 Law Times Rep. LI. 161/2 The attachments to buildings were made..by a bolt screwed into the lead of the ridge. |
| Prov. 1562 Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 50 A man may loue his house well, Though he ryde not on the rydge. |
b. Fortif. (See
quot.)
| 1853 Stocqueler Mil. Encycl., Ridge..is the highest part of the glacis proceeding from the salient angle of the covered way. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 1939/1. |
4. a. A long and narrow stretch of elevated ground; a range or chain of hills or mountains. Also applied to submarine features.
| 938 in Birch Cartul. Sax. II. 431 Anlang hrycges to ðære eorðburh. 941 Ibid. 498 West ðonan on ðone hrycg. a 1000 Ibid. I. 229 ærest of sæ upp on Hængestes ricg;..swa norð andlang rihges. |
| 1538 Leland Itin. (1769) VII. 10 There is a grete Hill or Rigge, that stretchethe..from Glassenbyry on to within 2 Miles of Bridgewater. 1574 Hellowes Gueuara's Fam. Ep. (1577) 367 This hill or ridge ioyneth vnto the citie. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Ind. iii. xx. 184 There are two ridges of mountaines which runne..in one altitude. 1671 New York Col. Doc. (1853) III. 195 They saw a Ridge of Mountains lyeing N. and S. 1737 [S. Berington] Mem. G. de Lucca (1738) 158 Vast ridges of Mountains in the Heart of the Country. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) I. 136 In Holland, which is all a flat, they shew a little ridge of hills, near the sea-side. 1815 Elphinstone Acc. Caubul (1842) I. 129 There are three branches, which stretch from the great ridge at right angles to the inferior ranges. 1880 Haughton Phys. Geogr. v. 208 The Kenia ridge has deprived the Equatorial lakes of fully one-half of their natural rainfall supply. 1944 A. Holmes Princ. Physical Geol. xv. 319 In the shallower depths, over sub-tropical and tropical submarine banks and ridges, the shells of pteropods become abundant. 1954 W. D. Thornbury Princ. Geomorphol. xviii. 462 Off the coast of California..there is a series of submarine basins and ridges similar in origin to the faulted structures landward from them. 1961, etc. [see mid-ocean a. b, mid-oceanic a.]. 1977 A. Hallam Planet Earth 99/3 Topographic forms can greatly influence currents, which may for example be..diverted round large hills and ridges. |
| fig. 1784 Cowper Task iv. 57 Here runs the mountainous and craggy ridge That tempts ambition. |
b. A line or reef of rocks.
| 1695 Phil. Trans. XIX. 35 The Riff or Ridge..descending a little towards the Eastward. 1769 Home Fatal Disc. ii, Fast, on a ridge of rocks, a wreck appear'd. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 572. |
c. Meteorol. An elongated region of high barometric pressure.
| 1883 Daily News 15 Sept. 2/7 The ‘ridge’ of high pressure which lay over our islands on Thursday. 1887 Ibid. 10 Jan. 3/5 A ‘ridge’ lay over that region, and the sky was clear. 1914 Seaman's Handbk. Meteorol. (Meteorol. Office) vii. 81 An area of considerably higher barometric pressure.., either as a ridge..or in the more extensive form of an anticyclonic system. 1968 G. M. B. Dobson Exploring Atmosphere (ed. 2) vi. 136 Troughs and ridges tend to circulate round the pole from west to east, but the general westerly wind at these heights has a much greater speed, and the air actually flows through these troughs and ridges. As the air blows into a low pressure trough it descends, while as it approaches a ridge it ascends. 1977 Hongkong Standard 14 Apr. 16/2 A ridge of high pressure covers the northern part of the south China Sea. |
5. a. Agric. A raised or rounded strip of arable land, usually one of a series (with intermediate open furrows) into which a field is divided by ploughing in a special manner. (
Cf. land n.1 7.)
† to spare neither ridge nor furrow: see
furrow n. 1.
| c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 1565 Þay..Ne spared rigges noþer vores til þay mette þat pray. c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. i. 1151 Lete se the litel plough, the large also, the rigges [v.r. londes] forto enhance. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §7 He seeth not whether the plough go in rydge or rayne. 1577 B. Googe Herebach's Husb. i. (1586) 23 b, As we leaue betwixt two Furrowes a Ridge, for the drie keeping of the graine like a Garden bedde. 1649 W. Blithe Eng. Improv. Impr. 79 Consider thy Land how it lyeth, whether round with Ridg and Furrow [etc.]. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 168 Th' aspiring Off-spring of the Grain O'ertops the Ridges of the furrow'd Plain. 1733 Tull Horse-Hoeing Husb. 120 note, This Observation was before I planted my Rows on high Ridges. 1787 Winter Syst. Husb. 276 A few buts or short ridges, which were planted with a proportion of one bushel to an acre. 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm I. 465 Heavy land is formed into narrow ridges, to allow the rain to flow quickly into the open furrows. 1884 Allen Amer. Farm Bk. 103 The depth of the furrow should be about one-half its width, and the land or ridges as wide as can conveniently be made. |
| transf. 1667 Milton P.L. vi. 236 Each Warriour..expert When to..turn the sway Of Battel, open when, and when to close The ridges of grim Warr. 1815 Wordsworth Spanish Guerillas in Poems II. 255 They have learnt to open and to close The ridges of grim War. 1895 W. B. Yeats Death of Cuhoollin in Poems 203 My father dwells among the sea-worn bands, And breaks the ridge of battle with his hands. |
| Comb. 1851 Art Jrnl. Hist. Exhib. 22/2 Among other striking examples of the ingenuity of the originators and constructors of the Crystal Palace is the ridge-and-furrow roof. 1871 Kingsley At Last ii, Gullies sawn in the slopes..giving..a ridge-and-furrow look to this and most other of the Antilles. 1919 J. Masefield Reynard 51 Meadows ridge-and-furrow ploughed. 1958 New Biol. XXVI. 40 This is particularly well shown in grasslands in which there are marked variations in the height of the water table, such as the characteristic ridge and furrow grasslands of Britain. 1967 Listener 6 July 10/3 The head gardener to the Duke of Devonshire, Joseph Paxton, then invented ridge and furrow roofing, without rafters. 1974 C. Taylor Fieldwork in Medieval Archaeol. iii. 57 The ridge and furrow ends on a well-marked terrace which was both a trackway through the fields and a headland on which the plough was turned. |
b. Used as a measure of land.
The size of ridges varied greatly in different parts of the country;
cf. Stephens
Bk. Farm (1844) I. 465.
| 967 in Birch Cartul. Sax. III. 486 Þæt lytle linland eal butan anan hrycge, þæm westmæstan tweᵹen æceras. |
| 1439 Brasenose Coll. Munim. C2 7, 4 rygges of meadow in Cropredy. 1631 Indenture, Bucks, 3 ridges or butts. 1688 Holme Armoury ii. ii. §32 Smaller parcells according to that quantity of ground it containeth,..Ridges, Butts, Flats, Stitches or small Butts, Pikes. 1716 Lond. Gaz. No. 5487/4 Also four or five Ridges of Arable Land, and one Ley. 1875 Maine Hist. Inst. iv. 114 Such was their numbers that they used not to get but thrice nine ridges for each man. |
c. Hort. A raised hot-bed on which cucumbers or melons are planted.
| 1725 Family Dict. s.v. Melon, To make Ridges for your Melons and Cucumbers, of the same kind of Dung with the Seed-Bed. 1796 C. Marshall Gardening xiv. (1798) 194 The hot-bed, or ridge made in May, for hand-glass, should be sunk in a dry soil. 1847 J. W. Loudon Amateur Gardener 86/2 The cucumbers raised from seed last month should now be planted out on ridges. |
6. a. A narrow elevation or raised part running along or across a surface.
| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §4 A reste-balke is where the plough..leaueth a lyttell rydge standynge betwene. 1677 A. Yarranton Eng. Improv. 41 At last I found in the Sea great quantities of Iron Stones lye in a Ridge. 1693 Evelyn De La Quint. Compl. Gard. II. 94 Strawberries being likewise order'd in double ridges, in Baskets made on purpose. 1726 Swift Gulliver iv. i, They had Beards like Goats, and a long Ridge of Hair down their Backs. 1757 W. Wilkie Epigoniad vii. 228 A tempest..began to blow And rear in ridges high the deep below. 1796 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) II. 293 Seeds small, with 5 membranaceous ridges. 1810 Crabbe Borough xxii. 71 None could the ridges on his back behold. 1846 Dana Zooph. (1848) 154 In a few species, the cells are confluent also across the ridges. 1872 Yeats Techn. Hist. Comm. 347 Dead-smooth files are..of so fine a cut that the unaided eye cannot discern the ridges. |
b. = bar n.1 7 a.
| 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v., It is commonly in the third or fourth Ridge that the Farriers strike, in order to bleed a Horse whose Mouth is over heated. [1831 Youatt Horse 133 The hard palate, composed of a firm dense substance divided into several ridges called bars.] 1847 T. Brown Mod. Farriery 198 The palate, divided into ridges and bars. 1876 Huxley in Nature XIV. 34/1 The valleys between the various ridges are not filled up with cement. |
c. A raised line, bank, bed, or strip
of something.
| 1763 Mills Pract. Husb. IV. 364 The French vine-dressers.. lay along that side of the vineyard..a ridge of dry litter. 1800 Wordsw. Brothers 31 The snow-white ridge Of carded wool which the old man had piled. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xiv. 123 From behind some dusky cotton-bale, or..over some ridge of packages. 1878 Huxley Physiogr. 168 A ridge of chalk runs across the island. |
d. One of the many raised lines on the skin that are
esp. noticeable on the fingers and palms of the hand and the sole of the foot.
| 1842 Penny Cycl. XXII. 86/2 Each such ridge shows on its summit a little furrow dotted with minute apertures. 1866 Chambers's Encycl. VIII. 756/1 The cross grooves that intersect the ridges and papillæ on the hands and feet. 1892 F. Galton Finger Prints i. 1 Let no one despise the ridges on account of their smallness, for they are in some respects the most important of all anthropological data. 1920 E. Wallace Daffodil Mystery xxviii. 220 Compare them!.. Line for line, ridge for ridge,..it is Milburgh's thumb-print. 1940 R. Morrish Police & Crime-Detection x. 89 The ridges (‘papillary’ ridges as they are called) are formed by the mouths of the ducts of the sweat-glands. 1966 T. S. & C. R. Leeson Histology xiii. 250/1 Ridges are absent on the forehead, external ear, perineum, and scrotum. 1980 A. Silverstein Human Anat. & Physiol. vii. 97/2 The patterns of grooves and ridges we see are in the epidermis, but they do not originate there. They are produced by variations of folds and ridges in the underlying dermis. |
7. attrib. and
Comb. a. In sense 3 (or related uses), as
ridge-beam,
ridge-board,
ridge-cap,
ridge-crest, etc.;
ridge-roofed adj. Also
ridge-piece,
-pole, -tile, -tree.
| 1578 Banister Hist. Man i. 18 The composition of the Vertebres compared to the *ridgbeame of a shippe. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 1939/1 Ridge-beam, a beam at the upper ends of the rafters beneath the ridge. |
| 1833 Loudon Encycl. Archit. §1301 The *ridge-board, 8 inches and a half by 1 inch and a half, [to be] of red deal. 1881 Young Every Man his own Mechanic §970 The rafters may abut after the manner of rafters against the ridge-board or pole of a span roof. |
| 1787 W. Marshall Prov. Norf. (1795) II. 387 Roofing, the *ridge-cap of thatched roofs. 1975 Whig-Standard (Kingston, Ontario) 4 Sept. 23/6 [Her] specialty is to make ridge cap shakes which are joined and overlapped alternately to make a leak-proof seal for the roof ridge. |
| 1849 Ecclesiologist IX. 161 There are rich but over large *ridge-crests to the chancel. |
| 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. II. xvi. 170 A neat housing of light canvas was stretched upon a *ridge-line sustained fore and aft by stanchions. |
| 1850 Parker Gloss. Arch. (ed. 5) 388 note, The longitudinal *ridge-rib runs along the apex of the main vault; the transverse ridge-rib crosses this and runs along the apex of the cross vault. 1879 Baring-Gould Germany II. 355 English architects alone used the ridge rib, running the whole length of the church and uniting the keys. |
| 1833 Loudon Encycl. Archit. §1301 The *ridge roll (a piece over which the lead is turned on ridges and hips). |
| 1883 Hardwick Phot. Chem. 299 Many operators prefer to work in what is called a *ridge⁓roof studio. |
| 1963 H. N. Savory in Foster & Alcock Culture & Environment iii. 34 A small rectangular, *ridge-roofed house. |
| 1933 *Ridge rope [see A tent]. |
| 1833 Loudon Encycl. Archit. 1130/1 *Ridge⁓spikes, nails with broad heads for fastening on lead. |
| 1535 Coverdale Ezek. xlvi. 23 There went a *rygge wall rounde aboute them all foure. |
b. In sense 5, as
ridge-are (
ear v.
1),
ridge-breadth,
ridge-furrow,
ridge-hoe,
ridge-method, etc.
Also
ridge-drill,
ridge-harrow,
ridge-plough (Knight
Dict. Mech.). For
ridge-and-furrow see sense 5.
| 1649 W. Blithe Eng. Improv. Impr. 79 If it be Lands & great Balkes together, then for the Lands Plough them as you please, that is, whether *Ridge-Are [etc.]. |
| 1806 J. Grahame Birds of Scot. 141 A *ridge-breadth round The partridge nest. |
| 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. II. 666 Rendering them drier by deepening the *ridge-furrows. |
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Ridge-hoe, a field implement for row-culture, of which there are several combinations. |
| 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. II. 687 In setting the plants out, in the *ridge method, it is necessary to have them placed in lines as regularly as possible. |
| 1817–8 Cobbett Resid. U.S. (1822) 71 The *ridge-sowing method, or the broad-cast method. |
| 1786 Abercrombie Gard. Assist. 11 Blending the whole together into an heap *ridgeways. |
| 1765 Museum Rust. III. 88 The manner of performing the *ridge-work, or laying up the soil for the winter. |
c. In sense 4, as
ridge crest,
ridge prairie (
U.S.),
ridge road (
U.S.),
ridge system,
ridge-top,
ridge walk.
| 1963 L. F. Chitty in Foster & Alcock Culture & Environment vii. 179 From Onibury, the general trend of the way is clear, but its actual line is partly problematical: there is no longer an extended ridge-crest to give it definition. 1971 I. G. Gass et al. Understanding Earth xxi. 303/1 This relationship..poses the question of whether these volcanoes in the flanking basins originated on ridge crests and remained active while they were carried away upon the spreading sea-floor. 1977 A. Hallam Planet Earth 97/3 The mean depth below the water surface of the world's ridge crests is 2700 m (8775 ft). |
| 1882 Econ. Geol. Illinois II. 73 The prairies are..of two classes—those that are a little elevated and rather level near the lower course of the streams, and more elevated and rolling prairies on the higher ridges. The latter are the so-called ‘ridge prairies’. |
| 1817 N. Amer. Rev. IV. 185, I have returned by the ridge road. 1871 Harper's Mag. Dec. 46/2 These ‘ridge-roads’..form a system of ready-made highways. |
| 1961 Ridge system [see mid-ocean a. b]. 1971 I. G. Gass et al. Understanding Earth xxi. 302/2 Such volcanoes are mostly found along the ridge systems, particularly in the Atlantic. |
| 1877 Bryce Transcaucasia i. 35 Looking from one of these billowy ridge-tops across the vast expanse. 1977 G. Scott Hot Pursuit viii. 74 The ground began to climb..and we were on a ridge⁓top... The mountain ranges stretched away. |
| 1940 W. A. Poucher Lakeland through Lens 43 Their proximity to the Buttermere Valley makes the western end of these ridges equally approachable, and incidentally very fine ridge walks either way. 1976 Lancs. Even. Post 7 Dec. 8/4 The switchback skyline of the Troutbeck fells..provides one of the best ridge walks in eastern Lakeland. |
d. Misc., as
ridge-bank,
ridge-chain,
ridge characteristics,
ridge-count,
ridge-form,
ridge-like,
ridge-line,
ridge-nose,
ridge system, etc.; also
ridge-hop vb.| 1945 C. Mann in B. James Austral. Short Stories (1963) 72 The house they had on the ridge-bank was near the middle of the river bend. 1968 J. Arnold Shell Bk. Country Crafts 164 This..left the wagoner free to throw the ridge⁓chain over the back-pad. |
| 1954 F. Cherrill Cherrill of Yard vii. 75 The incriminating impressions of the ridge characteristics of a fragment of his palm. 1970 P. Laurie Scotland Yard ix. 200 These ridge-counts go in as well. 1976 Ridge-count [see phenylthiocarbamide]. |
| 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. Pl. 31 A white-thorn hedge,..cut..in the ridge form, or broad at bottom and narrow at the top. |
| 1973 C. Bonington Next Horizon xviii. 247 The twin-engined Fokker Friendship ridge-hops over the tree-covered tentacles of the great peaks. |
| 1816 Coleridge Lay Serm. (Bohn) 379 A few..whose ample foreheads, with the weighty bar, ridge-like, above the eyebrows, bespoke observation. |
| 1833 Herschel Astron. iii. 156 The bottoms of valleys and the ridge-lines of hills. 1940 R. Morrish Police & Crime-Detection x. 91 Ridge-lines on the print may represent furrows which have become filled with blood on the finger. |
| 1703 Lond. Gaz. No. 3945/4 A black Cart Gelding..with..a ridge Nose. |
| 1954 F. Cherrill Cherrill of Yard vii. 69 The patterns on the ends of the fingers are simply a culmination of the ridge system which covers the whole of the palmar surface of the hands. |
8. Special combs.:
ridgeback = Rhodesian ridgeback s.v. Rhodesian a. 3 c;
ridge barrow Archæol. [
barrow n.1 3], a type of long, earthen grave-mound;
ridge cucumber, a cucumber of a variety suitable for growing outside in a temperate climate,
freq. grown on ridges of soil (
cf. ridge n.1 5 c);
ridge-fillet,
myrtle (see
quots.);
ridge runner U.S. slang, a southern mountain farmer, a hill-billy; also in Blacks' use, any white person;
ridge stone, (
a) a curb-stone for a well; (
b) a coping-stone for the ridge of a house;
ridge stay dial., a ridge-band;
ridge-tackle (see
quot.);
ridge tent (see
quot. 1963);
ridge-washed a. (see
quot.);
ridgewise adv., in the manner of a ridge;
ridgewith (
ridgeworth, etc.),
dial., a ridge-band (
cf. rig-with).
| 1937 Our Dogs 10 Dec. 886/3 The ridge in the breed..is present in practically every *Ridgeback puppy. 1945 L. G. Green Where Men Still Dream 167 The finest type of Bushman hunting dog, a light brown ridgeback mongrel with dark stripes and a trace of the greyhound in its appearance, is now verging on extinction. 1977 P. C. Venter Soweto 51 A ridgeback yawned and got up from the polished door step. |
| 1951 Field Archæol. (Ordnance Survey Prof. Papers No. 13) (ed. 3) 15 The whole affair, which belonged to Neolithic times, was..interpreted as an eccentric form of long barrow to which the term ‘*ridge barrow’ has been applied. 1963 Ibid. (ed. 4) 28 A variant of the earthen long barrow which seems to be confined at present to Dorset is the so-called ‘ridge-barrow’ which was found during the excavation of Maiden Castle near Dorchester. |
| 1851 B'ham & Midl. Gard. Mag. Apr. 45 Sow in frame on hot bed,..*Ridge Cucumbers [etc.]. 1933 H. H. Thomas Pop. Encycl. Gardening 257/2 The plants must be grown out in a greenhouse or frame, with the exception of the Ridge Cucumber and the Gherkin, which can be grown out of doors in summer. 1962 Listener 25 Oct. 698/1, 2 small ridge cucumbers. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Ridge-fillet, 1. (Architecture), the fillet between two channels of a pillar. 2. (Founding), the runner or principal channel. |
| 1889 J. H. Maiden Useful Native Pl. 276 Melaleuca genistifolia,..‘*Ridge Myrtle’. Called ‘Ironwood’ in Queensland. |
| 1933 Amer. Speech VIII. iii. 31/1 *Ridge runner, originally an Arkansas, rather than a Kentucky, hill billy. Any uncouth, stupid fellow. 1947 A. M. Trout Greetings from Old Kentucky 9 While strolling through the woods one day with my friend, Bill Curry, a ridge runner from London, in Laurel County, we came upon a large bunch of hogs. 1966 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. 1964 xlii. 31 The most characteristic feature of Negro terms for Caucasian is the tendency to expand particularized designations for Caucasians to include all members of the race, e.g., terms for poor Southerners:..ridgerunner [etc.]. |
| 1838 Holloway Prov. Dict., *Ridge stay. |
| 1694 in Picton L'pool Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 320 Some *ridg stones may be sett round the mouth of the well. 1829 Glover's Hist. Derby I. 91 At Pentrich common quarry, ridge stones are prepared, sawed out like an angular trough. 1899 Mackay Introd. to Lindesay of Pitscottie's Chron. (S.T.S.) 34 A few of the ridge stones were unearthed some years ago. |
| 1794 Rigging & Seamanship 177 *Ridge Tackle is composed of a double block and a single block, strapped with an eye: it is used to suspend the awning in the middle. |
| 1913 J. F. M. H. Stone Caravanning & Camping-Out xiv. 125 The tent I have the most liking for..is the type known as ‘*ridge tent’, ‘patrol tent’, or ‘emigrant tent’. 1926 E. E. Reynolds Camping for All iii. 13 Stanley..states that one of these double-roof ridge tents withstood three hundred days of rain. 1963 Camping (‘Know the Game’ Series) 3/2 Ridge Tents. These have long sides to the roof supported by upright poles at each end... A ridge tent with roof running down to the ground is called an A-tent. 1977 Grimsby Even. Tel. 5 May 3/6 (Advt.), Wanted, small ridge tent with fly-sheet. |
| 1823 Crabbe, *Ridge-washed-kersey (Mech.), kersey-cloth made of fleece wool, washed only on the sheep's back. |
| 1725 Family Dict. s.v. Mushroom-beds, The Dung should be well mix'd..and thrown into the Trench two Foot up *Ridge-wise. 1743 W. Ellis Mod. Husbandman Nov. vii. 316 They..cover the Turneps and Foss with Earth, Ridge-wise. 1902 J. Buchan No-Man's-Land i. 5 A sort of plateau, benty and rock-strewn, running ridge-wise above a chain of little peaty lochs. |
| 1552 Huloet, *Ridgwyth for a cart. c 1700 Kennet in MS. Lansd. 1033, fol. 322 A Ridge-with, the rope that is fastned to the rods, and goes over the saddle of the Fillar. Chesh. 1854– in Lanc., Chesh., and Northampton glossaries. |
▪ II. ridge, n.2 Cant. Now only
U.S. [Origin obscure.] Gold; gold coin. Also, any metal coin.
† ridge-cully, a goldsmith.
| 1665 R. Head Eng. Rogue i. iv, Ridge-cully, a Goldsmith. [Hence in B.E. Dict. Cant. Crew (a 1700), and later Dicts.] 1796 Grose's Dict. Vulgar T., Ridge, a guinea. 1812 J. H. Vaux Flash Dict., Ridge, gold, whether in coin or any other shape..; a cly-full of ridge, a pocketfull of gold. 1834 H. Ainsworth Rookwood iii. v, My thimble of ridge [= gold watch]. 1931 Writer's Digest Oct. 29 Ridge, a gold coin of any denomination. 1935 Amer. Speech X. 13/2 Chink, metal money; loose change. (Obs.) Modern ridge, coin. 1955 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. xxiv. 78 Pockets were actually picked for metal coins—ridge or smash. |
▪ III. ridge, v. (
rɪdʒ)
Forms: 5
ryge,
rigge, 6
rygge,
rydge, 6–
ridge (6
ridgg, 7
ridg).
[f. ridge n.1 An OE. hryciᵹende occurs as a gloss to L. resulcans.] 1. trans. To provide (a building) with a ridge, or a proper covering for this; to make or renew the ridge of (a house, etc.).
Cf. rig v.
1 1.
| 1445 in 5th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. (1876) 528/1 Paid William Brownflet for rygyng the house with turfs, 3d. 1496 Will of Pimpe (Somerset Ho.), Whereas the roffe of the body of the said churche is now Rigged w{supt} Rigge tile I will that it be rigged w{supt} leede. 1595 in Sheffield Gloss. (1888) 328 That the copyholders of this manor shall..moss and ridgg the west end of the mylne. 1610 Healey St. Aug. Citie of God xv. xvii. 569 The fittest forme for to keepe of the rayne and weather was to bee ridged downe a proportioned descent from the toppe downeward. 1686 Plot Staffordsh. 115 As in Oxfordshire..they use it [sc. turf] frequently to ridg and head their meaner houses. |
2. To break or throw up (land, a field, etc.) into ridges. Freq. with
up.
Cf. rig v.
1 2.
| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §13 In the begynnynge of Marche, rydge it vppe agayne. Ibid., Than let hym caste his barley⁓erthe, and shortly after rygge it agayne. 1549 Latimer Ploughers (Arb.) 19 The ploughman..breaketh it in furroughes, and sometime ridgeth it vp agayne. 1580 Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, Seillonner vne terre, to ridge a ground. 1677 Plot Oxfordsh. 239 Ridging it up twice or thrice for every casting tilth. 1733 Tull Horse-Hoeing Husb. xviii. 121 The Soil is equally rich, whether it be plowed plain or ridged up. 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 366 The land may be again ridged up by means of the plough. 1859 R. F. Burton Centr. Afr. in Jrnl. Geog. Soc. XXIX. 397 The fields are neatly ridged with the hoe. 1884 Allen Amer. Farm Bk. 103 A stiff clay is sometimes ridged up by turning a double furrow. |
| fig. 1549 Latimer Ploughers (Arb.) 20 Nowe ridgynge them vp agayne, with the gospel. |
| absol. 1868 Rep. U.S. Comm. Agric. (1869) 248 The safest course is to ridge before the 10th of November. |
3. To mark with or as with ridges; to raise ridges or ripples upon (a surface).
| 1671 Milton Samson 1137 Bristles..like those that ridge the back Of chaf't wild Boars. 1816 L. Hunt Rimini i. 204 The branching veins ridging the glossy lean. 1830 Tennyson Arab. Nts. 35 A motion from the river won Ridged the smooth level. 1886 Ruskin Præterita I. 242 The kind of breeze that drifts the clouds, and ridges the waves. |
| refl. 1880 J. Legge Mem. 262 The placid sea may ridge itself in mountains. |
4. To plant (
out) in ridges or hot-beds.
| 1731 Miller Gard. Dict. s.v. Cucumis, The common Allowance for ridging out the earliest Plants, is one Load to each..Hole. 1786 Abercrombie Gard. Assist. 31 To have a proper supply for ridging or planting into large hot-beds. Ibid. 32 Melons.—Sow in hot-beds,..ridge out into strong hot-beds. 1868 Rep. U.S. Comm. Agric. (1869) 248 The young plants make a more uniform growth when ridged. |
b. To cover
in, by raising ridges.
| 1827 H. Steuart Planter's G. (1828) 496 The practice usually is, to dig in Farm-yard Dung..; or sometimes to ridge in the dung. 1868 Rep. U.S. Comm. Agric. (1869) 422 The dressings were sown..in drills, which were then ridged in. |
c. To arrange in ridges.
| 1821–30 Ld. Cockburn Mem. (1874) iv. 220 It ran over the sky-lines of people ridged on all the buildings. |
5. intr. To form ridges; to rise (
up) in ridges.
| 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 525 The Biscay, roughly ridging eastward, shook And almost overwhelm'd her. 1891 Meredith One of our Conq. III. x. 194 Dartrey's forehead ridged with his old fury. 1899 Pall Mall Mag. Jan. 9 The veins ridged up upon his forehead. |
Hence
ˈridging ppl. a.| 1828 Tennyson Lover's T. 55 The slowly-ridging rollers on the cliff Clash'd, calling to each other. 1885–94 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche Apr. xxix, Hid from earth by ridging summits twain, They came upon a valley. |
▪ IV. ridge, a. Austral. slang. (
rɪdʒ)
[f. ridge n.2] Good, all right, genuine.
| 1938 Partridge Dict. Slang (ed. 2) 1026/2 Ridge, adj., good; valuable: Australian. 1953 K. Tennant Joyful Condemned i. 4 ‘It's ridge, Hec,’ she assured him. ‘He won't come here again.’ 1971 D. Ireland Unknown Industrial Prisoner vii. 130, I convinced her the whole thing was ridge! |