belay

belay

See also: Belay

English

The woman in yellow is belaying a climber (not pictured)

Etymology 1

From Middle English beleggen, bileggen, from Old English beleċġan (“to cover, invest, surround, afflict, attribute to, charge with, accuse”), From Proto-West Germanic *bilaggjan, equivalent to be- (“about, around”) +‎ lay. Cognate with Dutch beleggen (“to cover, overlay, belay”), German belegen (“to cover, occupy, belay”), Swedish belägga (“to pave”).

Pronunciation

• Verb:
  • (US) IPA^(key): /bɪˈleɪ/
  • (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbiːleɪ/, /bɪˈleɪ/

    • Audio (UK)

      (file)

  • Rhymes: -eɪ, (UK) -iːleɪ
• Noun:
  • IPA^(key): /ˈbiːleɪ/

    • Audio (UK)

      (file)

  • Rhymes: -iːleɪ

Verb

belay (third-person singular simple present belays, present participle belaying, simple past and past participle belayed or belaid)

1. (transitive, intransitive, nautical) To make (a rope) fast by turning it around a fastening point such as a cleat.
2. (transitive, climbing) To handle a climbing rope to prevent (a climber) from falling to the ground.

   He would need an experienced partner to belay him on the difficult climbs.

3. (transitive) To lay aside; stop; cancel.

   I could only hope the remaining piton would belay his fall.

   Belay that order!

4. (intransitive, nautical) The general command to stop or cease.
5. (transitive, obsolete) To surround; environ; enclose.
6. (transitive, obsolete) To overlay; adorn.
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, OCLC 960102938, stanza 5:

     jacket […] belayd with silver lace

7. (transitive, obsolete) To besiege; invest; surround.
8. (transitive, obsolete) To lie in wait for in order to attack; block up or obstruct.

Derived terms

• belay my last

Translations

to make fast by turning around a fastening point

Bulgarian: навивам (bg) (navivam), притягам (bg) (pritjagam) Finnish: kiinnittää (fi) Italian: dar volta, assicurare (it) Ukrainian: закріпи́ти (zakripýty)

to handle a climbing rope

Bulgarian: (please verify) осигурявам (bg) (osigurjavam) Dutch: zekeren (nl) French: assurer (fr) German: sichern (de) Italian: assicurare (it) Russian: страхова́ть (ru) (straxovátʹ), подстрахо́вывать (ru) (podstraxóvyvatʹ), подстрахова́ть (ru) (podstraxovátʹ) Swedish: säkra (sv) Ukrainian: страхува́ти (straxuváty), підстрахо́вувати (pidstraxóvuvaty)

general command to stop

Bulgarian: стига (bg) (stiga), стоп (stop) German: beenden (de) Russian: отставить (ru) (otstavitʹ) Ukrainian: відста́вити (vidstávyty)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Ido: (please verify) amaragar (io)

Noun

belay (plural belays)

1. (climbing) The securing of a rope to a rock or other projection.
2. (climbing) The object to which a rope is secured.
3. (climbing) A location at which a climber stops and builds an anchor with which to secure their partner.
   • 1967, Anthony Greenbank, Instructions in Mountaineering (page 84)

     But instead of swapping over at the ice axe belay, you carry on in the lead, cutting or kicking steps until you are about twenty feet above.

Derived terms

• belay device

See also

• Belaying on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɪˈleɪ/
• Rhymes: -eɪ

Verb

belay

1. simple past tense of belie (“encompass”)

References

• belay at OneLook Dictionary Search
• belay in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911

Anagrams

• Baley, Leyba