stirrup
pronunciation
How to pronounce stirrup in British English:
UK [ˈstɪrəp]
How to pronounce stirrup in American English:
US [ˈstərəp, ˈstɪr-]
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- Noun:
- support consisting of metal loops into which rider's feet go
- the stirrup-shaped ossicle that transmits sound from the incus to the cochlea
Word Origin
- stirrup
- stirrup: [OE] A stirrup is etymologically a ‘climbing rope’. The word goes back to a prehistoric Germanic compound formed from the base *stig- ‘climb’ (source also of English stair and stile) and *raipaz (ancestor of English rope). The earliest stirrups were looped pieces of rope.=> rope, stair, stile
- stirrup (n.)
- Old English stigrap "a support for the foot of a person mounted on a horse," literally "climbing rope," from stige "a climbing, ascent" (from Proto-Germanic *stigaz "climbing;" see stair) + rap (see rope (n.)). Originally a looped rope as a help for mounting. Germanic cognates include Old Norse stigreip, Middle Dutch stegerep, Old High German stegareif, German stegreif. Surgical device used in childbirth, etc., so called from 1884. Stirrup-cup (1680s) was a cup of wine or other drink handed to a rider already on horseback and setting out on a journey, hence "a parting glass" (compare French le vin de l'etrier).
Example
- 1. Charlemagne had the stirrup . We have the computer .
- 2. Stirrup confirmed that british troops would now concentrate on the most populated areas .
- 3. The huge social changes wrought by the stirrup took centuries to play out .
- 4. The first-order effects of the stirrup were dramatic .
- 5. The stirrup saved europe , and these new mounted cavalry were celebrated forever after as knights .