ridgepole

American  

[rij-pohl] / ˈrɪdʒˌpoʊl /

Or ridge pole

noun

1. the horizontal timber or member at the top of a roof, to which the upper ends of the rafters are fastened.

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ridgepole British  

/ ˈrɪdʒˌpəʊl /

noun

1. a timber laid along the ridge of a roof, to which the upper ends of the rafters are attached

2. the horizontal pole at the apex of a tent

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Other Word Forms

• ridgepoled adjective

Etymology

Origin of ridgepole

First recorded in 1780–90; ridge + pole ¹

Example Sentences

Bill McCroskey, 78, brought the sand-colored canvas ridgepole wall tent he’d slept in during the 10-day Jamboree.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 20, 2018

They also noted huge protuberances over the eyebrows and at the back of the head, an elevation like a ridgepole from front to back of the cranium.

From Time Magazine Archive

Audubon is a superbly sensuous poem, full of dawns "redder than meat," and chimney smoke that "bellies the ridgepole."

From Time Magazine Archive

Given a boat which he does not know how to manage, he is sent to rescue a woman perched on an old cypress snag and a man clinging to the ridgepole of a cotton house.

From Time Magazine Archive

It required two forked stakes, a smooth ridgepole, and a dozen or more pins to pitch it.

From Canoeing in the wilderness by Thoreau, Henry David