A vocabulary of landscape — a landscape of words
1054 entries
gendarme
A rock tower or pinnacle on a mountain ridge that blocks progress along the crest, forcing climbers to detour around or over it. Gendarmes guard the ridge the way cops guard a street — you don’t pass without dealing with them.
Etymology
French gendarme, a policeman, from gens d’armes, men at arms. The climbing usage originated in the French Alps.