Derig

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. Strip the ropes, sails, masts or equipment from a vessel or offshore platform, usually when it is being taken out of service
2. Take apart and clear away the gear and fittings that were set up on a ship or oil platform
3. Dismantle the tackle and apparatus fitted to a boat or drilling structure so that it can be stored or moved

Etymology: "Derig" is a nautical verb meaning to strip a ship of its rigging, the ropes, masts and sails that make up its working equipment. It is formed from the prefix "de-", meaning "removal" or "reversal", attached to "rig", the sailors' word for fitting out a vessel with its gear. Rig itself is the older term, and derig is simply its opposite: where rigging a ship equips it for sea, derigging takes that equipment down, most often when a vessel is laid up, dismantled or prepared for transport. The pairing is a clear example of how English sailors built reversible actions from existing words. Once "rig" was established as the verb for equipping a vessel, the "de-" prefix allowed them to name the reverse process without inventing a new root. The same pattern gives many other technical English verbs their precise meanings.

Antonyms: rig