ridge
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ridge¹
- /ɹɪd͡ʒ/ UK, US
Rhymes with -ɪdʒ
Where it comes from
From Middle English rigge, rygge, (also rig, ryg, rug), from Old English hryċġ (“back, spine, ridge, elevated surface”), from Proto-West Germanic *hrugi, from Proto-Germanic *hrugjaz (“back”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)krewk-, *(s)ker- (“to turn, bend”).
Cognate with Scots rig (“back, spine, ridge”), North Frisian reg (“back”), West Frisian rêch (“back”), Dutch rug (“back, ridge”), German Rücken (“back, ridge”), Swedish rygg (“back, spine, ridge”), Icelandic hryggur (“spine”). Cognate to Albanian kërrus (“to bend one's back”) and kurriz (“back”).
noun ridges · rig
- The back of any animal; especially the upper or projecting part of the back of a quadruped. He thought it was no time to ſtay, / And let the Night too ſteal away, / But in a trice advanced the Knight, / Upon the Bare Ridge, Bolt upright, / And groping out for Ralpho’s Jade, / He found the Saddle too was ſtraid[…]
-
Any extended protuberance; a projecting line or strip.
The plough threw up ridges of earth between the furrows.
Opposite: groove
- The line along which two sloping surfaces meet which diverge towards the ground. mountain ridge
- The highest point on a roof, represented by a horizontal line where two roof areas intersect, running the length of the area. Among the domestic animals which may generally be seen in native houses, are gaudy parrots, green, red, and blue, a few domestic fowls, which have baskets hung for them to lay in under the eaves, and who sleep on the ridge, and several half-starved wolfish-looking dogs.
- The highest portion of the glacis proceeding from the salient angle of the covered way. the British Guards lie down behind a ridge to avoid the shot and shell from the opposite heights
- A chain of mountains. […]Which to maintaine, I would allow him oddes, / And meete him, were I tide to runne afoote, / Euen to the frozen ridges of the Alpes, / Or any other ground inhabitable, / Where euer Engliſhman durſt ſet his foote.
- A chain of hills.
- A long narrow elevation on an ocean bottom.
-
An elongated region of high atmospheric pressure.
Opposite: trough
- A long tentpole that holds up the ceiling of a tent and is in turn held up by uprights. Coordinate term: upright
verb ridges · ridging · ridged · rig
- To form into a ridge.
- To extend in ridges.
Ridge²
Where it comes from
From ridge. Originating from Middle English.
proper noun Ridges
- A village in Hertsmere district, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom.
- A toponymic surname from Middle English, named after the natural feature.
- A male given name transferred from the surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: ridgepole, rooftree, spine, backbone, dorsal, papillary, chiropractic, ling, comb, spike, wrinkle, crown, rim, indentation, mountain, crest
Translations
Every language
noun projecting part of the back
| 中文 | 背脊 bèijǐ |
|---|
noun projecting line or strip
| 中文 | 垄 lǒng |
|---|
noun line along which two sloping surfaces meet
| Español | cresta, arista |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 脊 jǐ |
| हिन्दी | कटक kaṭak, डाँग ḍāṅg |
| Português | aresta, cresta |
| Français | crête |
| Deutsch | Grat |
| Italiano | cresta, crinale, costone |
| Română | creastă |
| Русский | гре́бень grébenʹ |
noun highest point on a roof
| Español | cumbrera, caballete |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 大棟 ōmune |
| 中文 | 屋脊 wūjǐ |
| Português | cumeeira |
| Français | faîte |
| Deutsch | First |
| Italiano | colmo |
| Русский | конёк konjók, гребень grebenʹ |
noun chain of mountains
| Español | cordillera, sierra |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 山脊 shānjǐ |
| Português | espinhaço, serro, serra, cordilheira |
| Français | crête |
| Deutsch | Bergkette |
| Italiano | catena |
| Română | creastă |
| Русский | го́рный хребе́т górnyj xrebét, го́рная цепь górnaja cepʹ, хребе́т xrebét |
noun chain of hills
| 中文 | 山脊 shānjǐ |
|---|---|
| Português | serro, serra |
| Русский | го́рный хребе́т górnyj xrebét, го́рная цепь górnaja cepʹ |
| العربية | سلسلة جبال silsilat jibāl |
noun elevation on ocean bottom
| Español | dorsal, dorsal oceánica |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 洋脊 yángjǐ |
| Português | dorsal oceânica |
| Français | dorsale |
| Italiano | dorsale |
| Русский | океани́ческий хребе́т okeaníčeskij xrebét, хребе́т xrebét |
name equivalent surnames
| Deutsch | Riedel |
|---|
Talk about this word "ridge." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ridge. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. ridge. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ridge "ridge." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ridge.Cite this
@misc{ridge_2026,
title = {ridge},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ridge},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
