n. & v.
--n.
1. the line of the junction of two surfaces sloping upwards towards each other (the ridge of a roof).
2 a long narrow hilltop, mountain range, or watershed.
3 any narrow elevation across a surface.
4 Meteorol. an elongated region of high barometric pressure.
5 Agriculture a raised strip of arable land, usu. one of a set separated by furrows.
6 Hort. a raised hotbed for melons etc.
--v.
1. tr. mark with ridges.
2 tr. Agriculture break up (land) into ridges.
3 tr. Hort. plant (cucumbers etc.) in ridges.
4 tr. & intr. gather into ridges.
Phrases and idioms:
ridge-piece (or -tree) a beam along the ridge of a roof. ridge-pole
1. the horizontal pole of a long tent.
2 ridge-piece. ridge-tile a tile used in making a roof-ridge.
Derivatives:
ridgy adj.
Etymology: OE hrycg f. Gmc