belay
bih-LAY
To secure a climbing rope around a fixed point — a rock, a piton, a harness — so that a falling climber is caught. The belayer holds the rope and arrests the fall. Without belay, there is no safety margin. The word carries the weight of trust: one person's life held in another's hands.
Etymology
From Dutch beleggen (to make fast). Entered English through nautical usage — securing a line to a cleat or pin aboard ship.
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