5 results for: belay

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

be·lay

Audio Help [bi-ley] Pronunciation Key verb, -layed, -lay·ing, noun

–verb (used with object)

1.	Nautical. to fasten (a rope) by winding around a pin or short rod inserted in a holder so that both ends of the rod are clear.

Mountain Climbing.

a.	to secure (a person) by attaching to one end of a rope.

b.	to secure (a rope) by attaching to a person or to an object offering stable support.

(used chiefly in the imperative)

a.	to cease (an action); stop.

b.	to ignore (an announcement, order, etc.): Belay that, the meeting will be at 0900 instead of 0800.

–verb (used without object)

4.	to belay a rope: Belay on that cleat over there.

–noun

5.	Mountain Climbing. a rock, bush, or other object sturdy enough for a running rope to be passed around it to secure a hold.

[Origin: bef. 900; ME beleggen, OE belecgan. See be-, lay¹

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
belay

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

be·lay Audio Help   (bĭ-lā') Pronunciation Key
v.   be·layed, be·lay·ing, be·lays

v.   tr.

Nautical To secure or make fast (a rope, for example) by winding on a cleat or pin.
To secure (a mountain climber, for example) at the end of a length of rope.
To cause to stop.

v. intr.

To be made secure.
Used in the imperative as an order to stop: Belay there!

The securing of a rope on a rock or other projection during mountain climbing.
An object, such as a rock, to which a mountain climber's rope can be secured.

[Middle English bileggen, to surround, from Old English belecgan; see legh- in Indo-European roots.]

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
belay

O.E. bilecgan "to lay a thing about" (with other objects), from be- + lecgan "to lay" (see lay). The only surviving sense is the nautical one of "coil a running rope round a cleat or pin to secure it" (also transferred to mountain-climbing), first attested 1549; but this is possibly a cognate word, from Du. beleggen.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

belay
noun
1.	something to which a mountain climber's rope can be secured
verb
1.	turn a rope round an object or person in order to secure it or him
2.	fasten a boat to a bitt, pin, or cleat

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