English
ridgebone
Ridgebone comes from Old English hryċġbān ‘backbone’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *hrugjabainą.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hrugjabainą‘backbone’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hruggjabain‘backbone, spine’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hryċġbān‘backbone’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rygge-bone
- Englishearliest quotation 1601ridgebone
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hrugjabainą‘backbone’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hruggjabain‘backbone, spine’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hryċġbān‘backbone’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rygge-bone
- Englishearliest quotation 1601ridgebone
Earliest quotation: 1601, Caius Plinius Secundus [i.e., [Book XXII.] Chapter XXI.: “[T]he corrupt blood […] lying cluttered about the ridge-bone.”
A compound of ridge ‘the back’ + bone
Proto-Indo-European *(s)krewk-
Proto-Germanic *hrugjaz ‘back’
Proto-West Germanic *hrugi ‘back’
Old English hryċġ ‘back, spine, ridge, elevated surface’
Middle English rigge
English ridge
Proto-Germanic *bainaz ‘straight’
Proto-Germanic *bainą ‘bone, leg’
Proto-West Germanic *bain ‘bone’
Old English bān ‘bone’
Middle English bon ‘bone’
English bone
Every English word from Proto-Germanic *hrugjabainą
Today it means
noun The backbone or spine.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *hrugjabainą / ridgebone