stirrup

See also: Stirrup

English
(1)
(3)
(5)

Etymology

From Middle English stirop, stirope, from Old English stiġrāp (“stirrup”), a compound of stiġe ("ascent, descent, a going up or down"; related to stīġan (“to climb”)) and rāp (“rope”), equivalent to sty +‎ rope.

Cognate with Dutch stegereep, stegelreep (“stirrup”), Old Saxon stigerēp (“stirrup”), Middle High German stereip, stegreif ("stirrup"; > German Stegreif (“improvisation”)), Icelandic stigreip (“stirrup”).

Pronunciation
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈstɪɹ.əp/
    • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈstɝ.əp/, /ˈstɪɹ.əp/
  • Rhymes: -ɪɹəp, -ɜɹəp

Noun

stirrup (plural stirrups)

  1. (equestrianism) A ring or hoop suspended by a rope or strap from the saddle, for a horseman's foot while mounting or riding.
  2. (by extension) Any piece shaped like the stirrup of a saddle, used as a support, clamp, etc.
    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
      Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. […] A silver snaffle on a heavy leather watch guard which connected the pockets of his corduroy waistcoat, together with a huge gold stirrup in his Ascot tie, sufficiently proclaimed his tastes.
    1. (climbing) A portable, flexible ladder-like device used in climbing.
      Synonyms: aider, étrier
  3. (anatomy) A stapes.
  4. (nautical) A rope secured to a yard, with a thimble in its lower end for supporting a footrope.
    • For quotations using this term, see Citations:stirrup.
  5. (construction) A bent rebar wrapped around the main rebars to reinforce against shear stress.

Derived terms

Translations
stapes — see stapes

Adjective

stirrup (not comparable)

  1. Referring to women's pants/trousers: being of a form, commonly worn by women, that includes a strap beneath the arch of the foot.

Further reading

Anagrams
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