☼ Concept Map

''abseil'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260927170342-00-⌔

abseil - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

Verb

abseil (third-person singular simple present abseils, present participle abseiling, simple past and past participle abseiled)

  • (intransitive) To descend a steep or vertical drop using a rope with a mechanical friction device or (classic abseil) by wrapping the rope around the body. [First attested in the mid 20th century.]1
    • ✤ Synonym: rappel
    • ✤ Although only five miles north of Winchester, the tunnel is in a rural location with no road access. Contractors were only able to reach the site after cutting through thick vegetation and abseiling down the slope on ropes.2

Noun

abseil (plural abseils)

  • A descent in mountaineering using a rope looped at the top and a friction device. [First attested in the mid 20th century.]3

Etymology

From German abseilen, from ab- (“down”) + Seil (“rope”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA: /ˈæb.seɪl/, /ˈæb.saɪl/
  • Audio (Southern England): 🔊
  • (US) IPA: /ˈæb.seɪl/, /-saɪl/, (imitating German)/ˈɑp.zaɪl/

Printed 2026-09-27.

(echo:: @ ⌗)

Footnotes

  1. Brown, Lesley, editor (1933), The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, published 2003, →ISBN, page 8 ↩

  2. 2020 September 9, Paul Clifton, “Heavy rainfall causes landslip in Hampshire”, in Rail, page 11: ↩

  3. Brown, Lesley, editor (1933), The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, published 2003, →ISBN, page 8 ↩