rygg

Rygg is a Norwegian noun with several related senses: the back of a person or animal, a raised crest such as a ridge, and, in technical language, a component of a compound term. Etymology traces the word to Old Norse rygg, with cognates in Danish ryg and Swedish rygg, and it is related to the English word ridge and the German Rücken.

In everyday usage the most common sense is the back of the body. The definite form rygggen/ryggen refers to the back, and the term appears in phrases describing back pain or injuries. In anatomy the word occurs in compound terms such as ryggmarg for the spinal cord and ryggrad for the spine or vertebral column.

Geographically and geologically, rygg denotes a long raised crest or ridge on land or at the bottom of the sea. Examples include fjellrygg for a mountain ridge and midt-havsrygg or midthavsrygg for a mid-ocean ridge. The term conveys a sense of linear elevation and often features prominent in topographic or bathymetric descriptions.

Rygg is also used as a surname in Norway. As a place or feature name, it appears in various compound forms that describe the back or ridge aspect of a landscape or structure.

See also ridge, back.