stirrup Hear it!

stirrup definition

stir·rup (stʉr′əp, stir′-)

noun

  1. a ring with a flat bottom hung by a strap, usually on each side of a saddle and used as a footrest in mounting and riding
  2. any of various supports, clamps, etc. resembling or suggesting such a ring
  3. Naut. a rope hung from a yard and having an eye at the end for supporting a footrope passed through it
  4. stirrup bone

Etymology: ME stirop < OE stigrap, akin to Ger stegreif: for IE bases see stile & rope

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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