Carabiner or karabiner
An oblong metal ring with a spring clip, used in mountaineering to attach a running rope to a piton or similar device.
The word is a late introduction (1932 according to the OED) from the world of mountaineering; it is a shortened form of the German karabiner-haken, spring-hook.
Piton
A metal spike fitted at one end with an eye for securing a rope and driven into rock or ice as a support in mountain climbing.
A slightly earlier introduction (1898) which derives from the French mneaning a “ring-bolt”.
2 thoughts on “Word: Carabiner & Piton”
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Either C or K, climbing’s pretty multi-national (though we did invent it). Likewise, does one rap (rappell, French) or ab (abseil, German) to get down. There’s no English equivalent word.
Thanks, Andrew. I’m not a climber (though I’ve know one or two) so wasn’t aware of the French rappell. Well why would there be an English equivalent; we’ve always borrowed words from other languages and made them our own (think pyjamas, kaftan, bungalow).