Ridgelings

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term used to describe young or juvenile individuals of certain animals, particularly those who are raised in a specific environment or setting; referring to offspring that inhabit or thrive along ridges or elevated terrains; indicating a group of young beings characterized by their association with distinct geographical features
2. Designating young creatures born or living in higher altitudes, often in a specific ecosystem where ridges are prevalent; describing the early life stage of species that are adapted to ridge-like environments; referring to juvenile forms recognized for their elevation-related habitats
3. Referring to the juvenile stage of certain animals that are found in or near elevated regions; indicating those that are raised in elevated terrains, often related to their ecological niches; characterizing young animals that are closely associated with ridge environments

Etymology: "Ridgelings" is the plural of "ridgeling", a term that has nothing to do with mountains or animals living at altitude. Its real sense is a castrated male animal, most often a horse or a bull, and the surprise is in the joining of its two parts. "Ridge" here is the ordinary word for the back of an animal, and "-ling" is a diminutive suffix, so the word is built from a back-plus-small-thing pattern. The reasoning behind the formation is that a castrated animal's remaining testicle or testicles were thought to sit near the back, which is why the animal was called a ridgeling. The idea is presumed rather than documented, so the link between the anatomy and the coinage should be read as a plausible explanation rather than a firmly recorded fact.