rappel
5 dictionary results for: rappel
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
rap·pel 
[ra-pel, ruh-] Pronunciation Key noun, verb, -pelled, -pel·ling.
[ra-pel, ruh-] Pronunciation Key noun, verb, -pelled, -pel·ling. –noun
–verb (used without object)
| 1. | (in mountaineering) the act or method of moving down a steep incline or past an overhang by means of a double rope secured above and placed around the body, usually under the left thigh and over the right shoulder, and paid out gradually in the descent. |
| 2. | to descend by means of a rappel. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| rap·pel
(rā-pěl') Pronunciation Key
n. A descent of a vertical surface, as a cliff or wall, by sliding down a belayed rope that is passed under one thigh and over the opposite shoulder or through a device that provides friction, typically while facing the surface and performing a series of short backward leaps to control the descent. intr.v. rap·pelled, rap·pel·ling, rap·pels To descend from a steep height by this method. [French, recall, return, rappel, from Old French, recall, from rapeler, to recall : re-, re- + apeler, to summon; see appeal.] |
(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
rappel
rappel
1931, "mountaineering technique for descending steep faces," from Fr. rappel, lit. "recall," from O.Fr. rapel, from rapeler "to recall, summon" (see repeal). The verb is first recorded 1957. The same word had been borrowed earlier (1848) to mean "a drum roll to summon soldiers."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| rappel | |
noun | |
| 1. | (mountaineering) a descent of a vertical cliff or wall made by using a doubled rope that is fixed to a higher point and wrapped around the body |
verb | |
| 1. | lower oneself with a rope coiled around the body from a mountainside; "The ascent was easy--roping down the mountain would be much more difficult and dangerous"; "You have to learn how to abseil when you want to do technical climbing" |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Rappel
Rap"pel\, n. [F. Cf. Repeal.] (Mil.) The beat of the drum to call soldiers to arms.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Share This:
Copyright © 2008, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.