Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
ridge rope

ridge rope

9.9
A rope at the side of a ship's front pole that crew hold for safety
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : cuerda de proa
  • She tied her safety harness to the ridge rope before proceeding with the repairs at the ship’s bow.

Examples

  • The sailor carefully grasped the ridge rope as he moved out onto the bowsprit in rough seas.

  • Both ridge ropes need to be secure to ensure the crew’s safety while they work forward.

  • The sailor grasped the ridge rope tightly.

  • Do you know how to tie a ridge rope?

  • Both ridge ropes need to be secure to ensure the crew’s safety while they work forward.

  • She tied her safety harness to the ridge rope before proceeding with the repairs at the ship’s bow.

  • The sailor carefully grasped the ridge rope as he moved out onto the bowsprit in rough seas.

Surface Forms

ridge rope singular
ridge ropes plural

Morphology

ridge + rope

The compound is compositionally built from 'ridge' and 'rope' so a learner can infer it is a rope associated with a ridge-like feature, giving some immediate semantic cue. However the precise nautical sense (specific ropes along a bowsprit functioning as lifelines) is technical and not predictable from general knowledge of the parts, so a B1 learner would only partially grasp the meaning without exposure.

Etymology

Ridge rope comes from ships: it is one of two ropes that run along each side of the long pole at the front of a ship. Sailors would hold these ridge ropes like a 'handrail' or 'lifeline' when they worked on the narrow platform, so the name shows they are ropes for 'safety'.