belay

name

1. A surname.

noun

Etymology: 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”).

1. The securing of a rope to a rock or other sturdy object.
2. The object to which a rope is secured.
3. A location at which a climber stops and builds an anchor with which to secure their partner.

   “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.”

verb

1. simple past of belie (“encompass”)