the.com/ledge
a narrow promise the cliff makes and rarely keeps
means a narrow horizontal shelf or projection, especially one jutting from a cliff, wall, or other vertical surface.
from From Middle English 'legge,' likely related to the verb 'lay' — the idea of something laid out flat or set in place, as a beam or ledge laid horizontally. The sense of a rock shelf or stony projection emerged later. A cousin, then, of 'lay' and 'ledger' (a book that lies flat), all rooted in the old notion of putting something down on a level surface.
- goats love
- mountain goats sleep on near-vertical rock shelves
- window origin
- medieval ledges held shutters and pots, not jumpers
- falcon nursery
- peregrines nest on skyscraper ledges worldwide
- climber's word
- a good ledge means rest and reassessment
- language drift
- ledge and ledger share a root meaning to lay
for instance
cornnice ledge mount everest — 11,000-foot narrow ridge between the south col and summit where climbers navigate extreme exposure