[German abseilen : ab, down, off; see ablaut + Seil, rope (from Middle High German seil, from Old High German; akin to Dutch zeel and Old English sāl).]
abseil
(ˈæbseɪl)
vb (intr)
1. (Mountaineering) mountaineering to descend a steep slope or vertical drop by a rope secured from above and coiled around one's body or through karabiners attached to one's body in order to control the speed of descent
2. (Aeronautics) to descend by rope from a helicopter
n
(Mountaineering) an instance or the technique of abseiling
Also called: rappel
[C20: from German abseilen to descend by a rope, from ab- down + Seil rope]
abseil - (mountaineering) a descent of a vertical cliff or wall made by using a doubled rope that is fixed to a higher point and wrapped around the body
descent - the act of changing your location in a downward direction
Verb
1.
abseil - lower oneself with a rope coiled around the body from a mountainside; "The ascent was easy--roping down the mountain would be much more difficult and dangerous"; "You have to learn how to abseil when you want to do technical climbing"
athletics, sport - an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition
come down, descend, go down, fall - move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way; "The temperature is going down"; "The barometer is falling"; "The curtain fell on the diva"; "Her hand went up and then fell again"
Former British Lion and Osprey favourite, Ryan Jones, took part in a charity abseil down BT Tower in Swansea on Saturday, 22 October to help raise money for Children in Need.
The sporting legend, 75, took part in the first free-fall abseil in Belfast's Victoria Square for Cash For Kids in a 147ft drop from the viewing gallery.
The centre's head of communication Bet Davies said although it is important to ensure the building is squeaky clean for visitors and tourists, it would probably be unsafe for the general public to abseil the centre.
We believe almost PS30,000 will be raised by these very brave people - I say brave as this abseil is about 200ft high and, on Sunday, not only did people have to contend with the height they also had to contend with very cold and very windy conditions.
The abseil was an amazing experience, I felt a great sense of achievement when I got to the bottom," said Louise Harvey, head of immigration department, who took part in the abseil.
abseil - (mountaineering) a descent of a vertical cliff or wall made by using a doubled rope that is fixed to a higher point and wrapped around the body
abseil - lower oneself with a rope coiled around the body from a mountainside; "The ascent was easy--roping down the mountain would be much more difficult and dangerous"; "You have to learn how to abseil when you want to do technical climbing"