ledge

 
Pronunciation: /lɛdʒ/

noun

  • 1a narrow horizontal surface projecting from a wall, cliff, or other surface: he heaved himself up over a ledge
  • a window ledge.
  • 2an underwater ridge, especially of rocks beneath the sea near the shore: a reef ledge
  • 3 Mining a stratum of metal- or ore-bearing rock; a vein of quartz or other mineral.

Derivatives

ledged

adjective

ledgy

adjective

Origin:

Middle English (denoting a strip of wood or other material fixed across a door, gate, etc.): perhaps from an early form of lay1. ledge (sense 1) dates from the mid 16th century