belay

  • 1Belay — Be*lay , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Belaid}, {Belayed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Belaying}.] [For senses 1 & 2, D. beleggen to cover, belay; akin to E. pref. be , and lay to place: for sense 3, OE. beleggen, AS. belecgan. See pref. {Be }, and {Lay} to place.]… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2belay — [bi lā′] vt., vi. belayed, belaying [ME bileggen < OE belecgan, to make fast < be , BE + lecgan,LAY2] 1. to make (a rope) secure by winding around a belaying pin, cleat, piton, etc.; hold fast 2. Naut. Informal a) to hold; s …

    English World dictionary

  • 3belay — index handcuff Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …

    Law dictionary

  • 4belay — (v.) from O.E. bilecgan, which, among other senses, meant to lay a thing about (with other objects), from be + lecgan to lay (see LAY (Cf. lay)). The only surviving sense is the nautical one of coil a running rope round a cleat or pin to secure… …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 5belay — /bi lay /, v., belayed, belaying, n. v.t. 1. Naut. 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. 2. Mountain Climbing. a. to secure (a person) by attaching to one end of a… …

    Universalium

  • 6belay — I. verb (belayed; belaying) Etymology: Middle English beleggen to beset, from Old English belecgan, from be + lecgan to lay Date: 1549 transitive verb 1. a. to secure (as a rope) by turns around a cleat, pin, or bitt b. to make fast …

    New Collegiate Dictionary

  • 7belay —    A safety rope tied around a caver that is played out or taken in by a second person as the caver moves. The purpose of the belay is to prevent the caver from falling more than a few feet [13] …

    Lexicon of Cave and Karst Terminology

  • 8belay — [ bi:leɪ, bɪ leɪ] verb 1》 fix (a rope) round a rock, pin, or other object to secure it. 2》 secure (a rock climber) using a belay. 3》 nautical slang stop! noun 1》 an act of belaying. 2》 a spike of rock or other object used for belaying.… …

    English new terms dictionary

  • 9belay — be•lay [[t]bɪˈleɪ[/t]] v. t. 1) naut. navig. to fasten (a rope) by winding around a pin or short rod 2) spo a) to secure (a person) by one end of a rope b) to secure (a rope) by attaching to a person or to an object 3) to belay a rope 4) (used… …

    From formal English to slang

  • 10belay — v. & n. v. 1 tr. fix (a running rope) round a cleat, pin, rock, etc., to secure it. 2 tr. & intr. (usu. in imper.) Naut. sl. stop; enough! (esp. belay there!). n. 1 an act of belaying. 2 a spike of rock etc. used for belaying. Phrases and idioms …

    Useful english dictionary