ridge ropen.
/ˈrɪdʒ rəʊp/, U.S. /ˈrɪdʒ ˌroʊp/ 1. = ridge-band n. Chiefly English regional (London) in later use. Now rare.
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the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > general equipment > [noun] > harness of draught animal > backband
ridgewortha1300
rigtowc1310
ridge ropea1333
rigband1408
ridge-band1418
rigwithy1419
rigwiddie1513
backband?1523
rigwithe1570
back-rope1711
rig-ropea1728
ridger1733
ridge chain1757
straddle-band1901
a1333 Gloss. W. de Bibbesworth (BL Add.) f. 11 v/2 En lymouns va li lymoer Q' au dos porte le dosser [glossed] rugrop.
c1400 Femina (Trin. Cambr.) (1909) 65 (MED) In þe lymones goþ þe lymener And on hys rugge he beruþ hys rygrope [Fr. dosser].
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Surselle, a broad and great band,..fastened on either side of a thill, and bearing vpon the..saddle... About London it is called the Ridge-rope.
1702 F. Povey Sea-gunners Compan. 61 Horse-harness for the Guns, viz...Ridg Ropes and Wanties.
1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 171 Ridge-band..in Suffolk..is called ridger;..and ridge-rope in London and its vicinity.
a1876 E. Leigh Gloss. Words Dial. Cheshire (1877) 169 Ridgwith, the back band in cart harness; in other places called the ridge band, ridger, ridge stay, ridge rope.
1886 J. Cuthbertson Compl. Gloss. Robert Burns 321 The meaning of the word..is obvious to any one who has ever seen a rigwoodie, ridge-band, ridge-rope, ridge-stay, or ridge-with.
2.
a. Nautical. The rope to which the edges of the rigging are attached. Also: the centre rope of an awning covering part of the deck.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > ropes or chains other than rigging or cable > [noun] > other ropes used on ships
stud1336
studrope1337
start rope1353
wartake14..
warsheet1420
ridge rope1769
heel rope1777
lizard1794
jackstay1834
triatic stay1841
surf line1848
gaff-string1861
head rope1867
jackstay1954
jackline1976
twist line-
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine Transl. French Terms Sauve-gardes, the ridge-ropes which extend the nettings of a ship's head.
1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship I. 230 The ridge rope of the main-deck-awning reeves through the trucks in the middle, and clinches through an eye in the clasp-hoop on the main-mast.
1840 Newcastle Courant 18 Sept. ii. 3/4 One of them..struck the chief mate on the back of the neck as he was lying on the starboard side, holding on by the ridge rope.
1857 Ld. Dufferin Lett. from High Latitudes (ed. 3) 22 I, guessing we were in for it, sent down the topmasts,..rove the ridge-ropes, and reefed all down.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Ridge~ropes are of various kinds. Thus the centre-rope of an awning, and those along the rigging to which it is stretched, the man-ropes to the bowsprit, safety lines from gun to gun in bad weather—all obtain this name.
1913 G. W. Allen Naval Hist. Amer. Revol. II. xvi. 549 They were called to the quarter deck, stripped and tied to the ridge-rope of the netting.
1958 Times 9 Aug. 8/6 Flag-lockers were rifled and the bunting suspended fore-and-aft along the awning ridge-rope like blue and red carcasses in an abattoir.
1991 D. Casey This Old Boat xv. 391/1 The usual method of installing a ridge rope is to fold the awning in half—underside to underside—slide the rope into the fold, and run a row of stitches against it.
b. A rope forming the ridge of a tent.
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1821 W. E. Parry Jrnl. Voy. Discov. North-west Passage viii. 181 Two tents..were made of blankets, with two boarding-pikes, fixed across at each end, and a ridge rope along the top.
1896 Recreation Oct. 199/2 These lashings and straps together with the ridge rope, serve to support and stretch the inner tent as taut as needed.
1933 F. H. Cheley Camping Out 432 An ‘A’ tent is almost as easy to pitch, especially if it is hung on a ridge rope tied between two trees.
2004 G. Taylor et al. Enhancing Occup. Safety & Health ii. 50 It offers the benefits of shade and something to fasten the ridge-rope to.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.a1333