Riggs

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. To fit out a ship with ropes, sails, and other equipment ; to set up or manipulate something dishonestly or fraudulently
2. To equip a vessel with the necessary cordage and apparatus for sailing ; to tamper with or control an outcome through deceptive means
3. To outfit a boat with its working ropes and gear ; to alter or influence something through trickery or unfair manipulation

Etymology: Old English "hrycg" meant the spine or back of an animal, and the same root gave Middle English "rigge" a second sense: the ridge of a roof or hill. The shape of a backbone and the shape of a crest of land are the same image. Old Norse "hryggr", meaning back or ridge, is a close relative, and the two languages reinforced each other in northern England and Scotland. In Scots and northern dialects, "rigg" came to mean a raised strip of ploughed land, the ridges of "rig and furrow" cultivation that still mark many old English and Scottish fields. The plural "riggs" is a form of that noun. "Riggs" is also a surname, which probably arose as a name for someone who lived by such a ridge, though the exact origin of the surname is uncertain.