parachuten.
/ˈparəʃuːt/, U.S. /ˈpɛrəˌʃut/ I. Something which inflates to control the descent of a falling body, and similar uses.
1.
a. A device for slowing the fall of a person or object from a great height (esp. from an aircraft), consisting of a large light fabric canopy which fills with air when expanded, thus checking by means of air resistance the velocity of descent of the person or thing to which it is attached.
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > parachute > [noun]
parachute1784
chute1920
umbrella1933
brolly1934
1784 Gloucester Jrnl. 8 Nov. 3/3 After having thrown a sheep six times from the top of a tower,..by the aid of a machine called a parachute, without the animal receiving any damage, he [sc. Montgolfier] prevailed upon a man..to try the experiment, which was performed with the utmost safety.
1796 J. G. Stedman Narr. Exped. Surinam II. 17 These [sc. flying squirrels] have..a membrane..which when they leap, expands like the wing of a bat, and by this, like a parachute, they rest on the air.
1837 Gentleman's Mag. Aug. 190/2 After the parachute was divided from the car, the balloon rose rapidly.
1864 G. A. Sala Quite Alone I. vii. 114 Cocking had cast himself into space in a parachute and..was smashed to death.
1919 E. R. Calthrop's Aerial Patents Bk. 24 The ‘Guardian Angel’ Parachute, in all its different types, is instantly automatic.
1987 Times 14 Jan. 10/8 The Indian Prime Minister donned a parachute and took to the skies in a spur-of-the-moment attempt at ‘parasailing’.
2003 Daily Tel. 1 Aug. 15/2 Hurtling to the ground at speeds reaching 220mph, the skydiver gradually became more recognisable as he opened his parachute and guided himself through the clouds.
b. A similar device used for some other purpose, as to act as a brake on an aircraft or land vehicle, to provide lift in parasailing, etc.
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > parachute > [noun] > types of parachute
drogue1919
free parachute1920
parachute1942
ribbon chute1945
ribbon parachute1946
parasheet1951
parajute1956
parasail1962
paraglider1971
paraflight1980
paramotor1993
1942 H. S. Zim Parachutes Index 251/1 Brake parachute.
1974 Encycl. Brit. Micropædia VII. 740/3 Sport parachutes have large holes that permit the air to escape and drive the parachute in the direction opposite the hole, much like a low-power jet engine.
2. An appendage of an animal or plant likened to a parachute in form or effect, as the extensible skin or membranes of a flying squirrel or flying lizard, or the downy tuft of a dandelion seed.
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the world > life > biology > physical aspects or shapes > projection or protuberance > [noun] > other projections or appendages
petifoot?1440
parachute1826
1826 M. Edgeworth Lett. (1894) 145 Every little thing amuses us together: the cat, the dog, the hog, Mr. Barry, or a parachute blown from the dandelion.
1833 C. Bell Hand iii. 77 The Draco fimbriatus..dropping safely to the ground, under the protection of a sort of parachute, formed by its extended skin.
1894 H. Drummond Lowell Lect. Ascent of Man 304 The fruits and seeds when ripe are..provided with wing or parachute and launched upon the wind.
1930 R. Campbell Adamastor 50 The proud White gannet in his parachute of snow.
1947 W. H. Auden Age of Anxiety v. 112 In pelagic meadows The plankton open their parachutes.
1989 Q Dec. 147/2 (advt.) Sometimes, even The Roches' merest whisper blows you away, or at least floats you like a dandelion parachute on a warm breeze.
II. Extended uses.
3. In full parachute bonnet, parachute hat. A kind of broad-brimmed hat worn by women in the late 18th cent. historical in later use.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > hat > with a brim > broad-brimmed > other
petasus1577
bongrace1585
sombrero1770
parachute1786
Pamela hat1802
Gainsborough1878
bloomer1883
cartwheel1884
picture hat1887
cowgirl hat1897
Stetsonc1900
shtreimel1902
Merry Widow1908
ten-gallon hat1928
lemon-squeezer1953
Smokey Bear1969
Akubra1973
1786 F. Tytler in Lounger No. 79. 315 The progress of bonnets from the quaker to the Shepherdess and Kitty Fisher, and thence to the Werter, the Lunardi, and Parachute.
1787 E. Helme Louisa II. 58 A balloon or parachute bonnet on the tortured head of a Modern belle.
1885 H. A. Dillon Fairholt's Costume in Eng. (ed. 3) II. (Gloss.) Parachute, a ladies' hat, in fashion in 1779.
1960 C. W. Cunnington et al. Dict. Eng. Costume 9/1 Balloon Hat, Lunardi, Parachute Hat, a hat with a large ballooned crown and wide brim, made of gauze or sarcenet over a wire or chip foundation.
1975 C. Calasibetta Fairchild's Dict. Fashion 21/1 Balloon hat, woman's hat with wide brim and large puffed-out crown,..inspired by balloon flight of Lunardi. Also called Lunardi hat and parachute hat.
4.
a. Watchmaking. A method of cushioning the balance staff of a watch against shocks by supporting its end stones on springs. Now chiefly historical.
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the world > time > instruments for measuring time > watch > [noun] > making watches > tools or materials used in watchmaking
wig-wag1582
turn-bench1680
fusee-engine1858
parachute1865
fraise1874
pinion-file1875
watch-oil1876
bouchon1881
spotter1881
bench winder1884
knee-punch1884
pinion bottoming file1884
pinion gauge1884
stake1884
wax lathe1884
turner1891
1865 Temple Anecdotes: Invention & Discov. 102 Bréguet also discovered a method of preserving the regularity of his chronometer, even in case of their being struck or experiencing a fall. Such is the effect of his ‘parachute’.
1884 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockmakers' Handbk. (new ed.) 184 The idea of the parachute is that if the watch is let fall,..the balance staff pivots may be saved from breaking by the yielding of the end stones.
1975 E. J. Tyler Clocks & Watches 31 In..the cylinder..an added refinement was a ‘parachute’ or flexible bearing for the balance staff, which protected it from shocks if the watch should be accidentally dropped.
1997 Business Times (Malaysia) (Nexis) 21 June 3 His [sc. Abraham-Louis Breguet's] innovations included..the first anti-shock parachute device.
b. Mining. A device to prevent a too rapid descent of a cage in a mine shaft. Also: one serving a similar purpose for the boring-rod in a boring. Now historical.
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1881 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1880–1 9 161 Parachute, a kind of safety-catch for shaft cages. In rod-boring, a cage with a leather cover to prevent a too rapid fall of the rods in case of accident.
1998 P. Collier tr. E. Zola Germinal i. ii. 32 Catherine was pleased to hear her father explain things to the newcomer. ‘Look, on top of the cage, there's a “parachute”, an iron anchor, with spikes that dig into the guide, if the cable breaks.’
c. Brewing. A funnel-shaped device used in some top-fermentation systems to remove yeast from the top of a fermenting vat, capable of being raised or lowered according to the height of the fermenting wort. Now historical.
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the world > food and drink > drink > manufacture of alcoholic drink > brewing > [noun] > brewers' utensils
mash-rule1388
strum1394
tunning dish14..
rudder1410
graner1413
mashel1440
mash rudder1454
pig's foot1467
mask rudder1588
tunnel dish1610
paddle-staff1682
mash1688
mashing staff1688
mash-staff1688
oar1735
mashing-stick1741
porcupine1748
thrum1828
rouser1830
tun-pail1833
mashing oar1836
racker1843
attemperator1854
sparger1858
zymoscope1868
nurse1880
parachute1885
pitching machine1940
sparge arm1947
mash-stick1953
mash oar1974
1885 Standard 14 Mar. 7/7 Brewery fermenting tuns..with parachutes and attemperators preferred.
1995 M. J. Lewis & T. W. Young Brewing xi. 167 The ‘Parachute’ (a large funnel) protruded through a gland (sealed hole) in the bottom of the vessel and could be lowered into the fermentation to allow the yeast head to flow out and into a collecting vessel on the floor below.
5. figurative. A protective or compensatory measure offering security in the event of sudden misfortune; (Business) = golden parachute n. at golden adj. and n. Compounds 2a.
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society > [noun] > social compact > between specific groups > specific
parachute1973
golden parachute1981
Maastricht treaty1991
1973 R. N. Bolles What Color is your Parachute? 66 The time to figure out where your parachute is, what color it is, and to strap it on, is now—and not when the vocational airplane that you are presently in is on fire and diving toward the ground.
1987 Washington Post (Nexis) 28 June a1 Nine executives..asked that their parachutes be terminated, eliminating their guarantee of cash, legal fees and insurance if the company were bought.
1990 Film Comment Jan.–Feb. 38/1 Her exit parachute at Columbia was about as golden as they get—$10 million—and more.
1993 Economist 7 Aug. 43/2 In late July Governor John Engler and the state legislature made a leap of faith; they hope to stitch a parachute before they hit the ground.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
parachute cord n.
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1909 Science 13 Aug. 194/2 The parachute cords by friction on the rubber weaken it.
1976 A. White Long Silence xi. 101 We checked ourselves for climbing. It was very similar to checking ourselves for a parachute jump... I had taken a loop of nylon parachute cord with me.
1999 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 29 July a. 17/2 The speed of the fall allows the surfer to plane on the air and do snowboard-style tricks, before eventually pulling a parachute cord.
parachute harness n.
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1917 F. Palmer & D. Mead My Second Year of War 57 First, he got the joy-rider into the parachute harness for such emergencies and over the side, then himself.
1991 E. Schmitt in J. E. Lewis Mammoth Bk. War Correspondents (2001) 590 They strap on a parachute harness and a G-suit.
parachute ring n.
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1930 C. Dixon Parachuting 53 He will then pull out the parachute ring in the front of his harness which will open the pack to let the parachute fly out.
2003 Slate Mag. (Nexis) 3 Feb. A telescoping pole is then supposed to be extended beyond the wing, allowing the crew to attach their parachute rings and slide out into the clear.
C2. (In sense ‘dropped or meant for dropping by parachute’.)
parachute bomb n.
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1912 Sci. Amer. 16 Nov. 422/1 A Parachute bomb for Aeronautic Use... The bomb is provided with a small parachute which quickly destroys the horizontal velocity communicated by the airship.
1999 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 10 June 29/2 On the last page the laid-back DPP (Director of Program Planning) is blown up by an unexploded parachute bomb.
parachute flare n.
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1918 War Illustr. 13 July 372/2 We saw flashes far to the south—shrapnel, star-shells, and parachute flares.
2001 Outside Oct. 80/1 Dodging discarded equipment, twisted metal, unexploded shells, rockets, and parachute flares, and eating dust from the chopper's downdraft, we scurried up a ridgeline.
parachute mine n.
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1940 Hutchinson's Pict. Hist. War 20 Dec. 1939–13 Feb. 1940 2 When the ‘parachute’ and magnetic mines were first used in the war, many people assumed that the Allies were taken by surprise.
1976 18th-cent. Stud. 10 138 Adam's building suffered extensive but remediable damage from the blast of a parachute mine.
parachute pack n.
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1956 W. A. Heflin U.S. Air Force Dict. 112/1 Chest-pack parachute, a parachute pack that is detachable from the harness and is clipped onto a chest harness when needed.
2002 Honolulu Advertiser (Hawaii) (Nexis) 23 Dec. 1 a The reserve parachute was out of the parachute pack when the bodies were found, but had not opened.
parachute rocket n.
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1869 S. F. B. Morse Exam. of Telegr. Apparatus 43 The use of what she calls parachute rockets discharged from a pistol or gun; but on the same principle of colored lights.
1976 Star Phoenix (Saskatoon, Sask.) 23 June 52/4 Since many rescues have to be performed at night or in darkened, stormy conditions, he suggested police and other officials involved in rescues carry illuminating parachute rockets.
2000 Hobart Mercury (Nexis) 28 Mar. 8 The exercise..is part of the SailTrain program and includes firing red hand-held flares, orange smoke flares and red parachute rockets.
parachute signal n.
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1937 Discovery June 187/2 The manufacture of marine signals,..parachute signals,..railway flares.
1982 Oil & Gas Jrnl. (Nexis) 15 Nov. 139 Included are signal pistols, hand launchers, hand flares, and parachute signals.
C3. (In sense ‘involving the use of a parachute’.)
parachute descent n.
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1855 Sci. Amer. 17 Nov. 78/4 More than three times the height attained by..Gainerin when he made his parachute descent.
1946 W. F. Burbidge From Balloon to Bomber 43 The belief that a person lost consciousness during a parachute descent was widely held until delayed drops proved the contrary.
1996 Science 10 May 838/2 During parachute descent, environmental temperatures within the interior of the probe exceeded those predicted, both on the cold and warm sides.
parachute drop n.
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society > travel > air or space travel > parachuting > [noun] > dropping by parachute
parachute drop1928
airdrop1943
drop1943
supply drop1943
parachutage1944
paradropping1944
paradrop1945
1928 Evening News 5 May 5/3 There will be wing walking and a parachute drop by Miss June.
1994 Canad. Def. Q. Mar. 43/3 The programme includes..a veterans and vehicle parade, a vintage aircraft flypast, drill team demonstrations, military band concerts, a parachute drop, and a wreath-laying ceremony.
parachute jump n.
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1929 New Yorker 16 Nov. 72/2 (cartoon caption) You can also use this suit for making parachute jumps.
1970 Times 9 Dec. 16/1 The man..made his astonishing parachute jump into allied territory.
1992 N. Maclean Young Men & Fire i. i. 19 It was 1940 when the first parachute jump on a forest fire was made.
parachute jumper n.
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1887 N.Y. Times 31 July 2/3 Cincinnatians witness the safe descent of a parachute jumper.
1912 C. B. Hayward Pract. Aeronautics 161 The parachute jumper insisted on going up at least a thousand feet for the first trial.
1942 Yank 29 July 9/2 It means nothing at all except that they are not parachute jumpers.
1992 N. Maclean Young Men & Fire i. i. 19 In 1949 the smokejumpers were not far from their origins as parachute jumpers turned stunt performers dropping from the wings of planes at county fairs just for the hell of it.
parachute-jumping n.
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1888 Morning Oregonian (Portland, Oregon) 14 June 3/3 S. H. Halford wrote from Fargo, Dakota, saying that Leroy, a tight-rope walker, whom he is managing, will give two exhibitions with parachute jumping, in Portland for $150.
1952 Chambers's Jrnl. May 261/1 Parachute-jumping is the field of aviation in which the monopoly belongs to the Soviet Union.
1989 D. Morrow & M. Keyes Conc. Hist. Sport in Canada 284 Changes in sport environments and technological advancements have been used by sportsmen to invent new games and sports—parachute-jumping, skate-boarding, ski-boarding, [etc.].
parachute skiing n.
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1971 Bahamian Rev. Nov. 15/2 The more daring may wish to sample parachute skiing. In this unique sport, the skiers use the wind and motion of the boat to climb on the lift of a parachute and soar perhaps a hundred feet in the air for a thrilling ride.
1995 Wahington Post (Nexis) 12 Nov. e7 Outside the Club, G.O.s organize sightseeing excursions and, in some areas, heli-skiing or parachute skiing.
parachute system n.
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1968 Science 15 Mar. 1230/2 The parachute system used both a drogue and a main parachute.
1994 Skydiving Feb. 4/2 This would allow the power spring to push itself out of the power spring body, risking a premature activation of a parachute system.
parachute troops n.
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society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > branch of army > [noun] > paratroops
parachute troops1935
paratroop1937
parachute regiment1942
1935 Boston Globe 14 Oct. 14/8 Railroads are too vulnerable a form of transport, as they can be rapidly put out of action..by sudden mass attacks by parachute troops upon vital bridges or junctions.
1992 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 8 Oct. 11/4 The SS called those who feel, were pushed, or leaped into the pit, ‘Parachute Troops’ (Fallschirmjäger).
C4. (In sense ‘for, involving, or consisting of parachute troops’.)
parachute aircraft n.
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1962 G. Chatterton Wings of Pegasus 32 There was a very limited number of tug aircraft and parachute aircraft.
2002 Daily Mail (Nexis) 10 Oct. 67 Procedures have since been tightened for all those going on parachute aircraft—with partnerchecking by at least two other parachutists.
parachute attack n.
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1941 Hutchinson's Pict. Hist. War 22 Jan.–18 Mar. 74 We must all be prepared to meet gas attacks, parachute attacks, with constancy, forethought and practised skill.
1989 Jrnl. Mod. Afr. Stud. 27 327 The Belgians..launched a parachute attack on Kisangani.
parachute battalion n.
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1936 Winnipeg Tribune 30 Nov. 1/3 The All-Union Congress of Soviets has just heard of the Moscow government's plans to..develop parachute battalions on a large scale.
1996 Jrnl. Mil. Hist. 60 801 We have the myth of the ‘paras’ (parachute battalions).
parachute brigade n.
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1945 Mil. Affairs 9 378 The part played by the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade Group as part of the British First Airborne Division.
1991 K. Maguire Politics in S. Afr. iii. 60 The two principal élite combat units were the Parachute Brigade and the Reconnaissance Commandos.
parachute landing n.
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1891 Sacramento (Calif.) Daily Record-Union 27 Nov. 3/1 Hagal make a fine balloon ascension, but a somewhat sensational parachute landing.
1942 E. Waugh Put out More Flags 247 Parachute landings were looked for hourly.
1990 M. Dewar Day in Life of Brit. Army (BNC) 27 This operation will coincide with the parachute landings ‘up country’.
parachute regiment n.
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society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > branch of army > [noun] > paratroops
parachute troops1935
paratroop1937
parachute regiment1942
1942 Times 9 Dec. 2/4 To be Colonel Commandant, The Parachute Regiment, Army Air Corps, Field Marshal Sir John Dill.., with effect from November 12.
2001 Times 5 Dec. i. 8/3 The Parachute Regiment's basic training, which is among the toughest in the world, includes endurance and speed marches.
C5. (In sense ‘resembling or acting as a parachute’.)† parachute parasol n. Obsolete
parachute garment n.
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1912 C. B. Hayward Pract. Aeronautics 690 (heading) Parachute garment as a safeguard.
2003 www.blackmask.com 15 Dec. (O.E.D. Archive) The airman took a fancy to Dave [Dashaway, the Young Aviator] from the nerve and ability he showed in experimenting with a parachute garment, and hired him.
parachute mechanism n.
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1897 J. C. Willis Man. Flowering Plants I. 110 Very perfect ‘parachute’ mechanisms.
1990 E. Regis Great Mambo Chicken & Transhuman Condition 35 Truax, after inspecting the rocket, agreed, deciding that the parachute mechanism had failed on its own.
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1899 Westm. Gaz. 1 Aug. 4/1 A ‘parachute’ parasol with the edge fringed with lace of the style..in vogue at the period of the Crimean War.
parachute spinnaker n.
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1932 Yachting Oct. 68/1 The ‘parachute’ spinnaker—or ‘double’ spinnaker, if you prefer—has come to stay.
1996 Life (Nexis) Feb. 76 This parachute spinnaker, at 18,000 square feet the largest sail ever made.
C6. (In sense ‘used for making parachutes’.)
parachute nylon n.
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1972 J. Poyer Chinese Agenda (1973) v. 42 Mountain tents of very light-weight, close-woven parachute nylon.
1991 Argus (Cape Town) 16 Apr. 8/4 Jenny Le Roux's cheeky raincoats and trenchcoats in fluorescent parachute nylon worn over black and white checked business suits.
parachute silk n.
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1942 A. C. Neal et al. Introd. War Econ. 52 Rubber; all types of aircraft; diesel engines; parachute silk; small arms, etc.
1962 M. Duffy That's how it Was xvi. 131 She was juggling with some pieces of parachute silk she had been given, trying to shape them to a pair of camiknickers.
1997 Indianapolis Star 11 Nov. e1/2 The crinkly, wrinkly look of the gesso silk dresses for evening did not work, but the layers of parachute silk..did.
C7. Objective.
parachute-bearing adj.
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1883 G. Allen in Knowledge 22 June 367/2 Other parachute-bearing mammals.
1997 Los Angeles Times (Nexis) 8 Mar. b2 [They] initially had trouble getting their rocket to launch. But on the second try, the green plastic bottle shot skyward and dispatched its parachute-bearing payload.
C8.
parachute assembly n. a parachute complete with all its equipment.
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > parachute > [noun] > complete with deployment equipment
parachute assembly1951
1951 Gloss. Aeronaut. Terms (B.S.I.) iii. 14 Parachute assembly, a parachute complete with all equipment for deployment and for harnessing a load.
1994 Skydiving Feb. 11/3 Since tandem is a dual harness, dual parachute assembly, it doesn't meet that requirement.
parachute child n. U.S. = parachute kid n.
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1993 Los Angeles Times (Nexis) 24 June a1 Hwang and..Watanabe, in their 1990 master's thesis for UCLA, studied psychological problems among 23 parachute children.
1999 San Diego Union-Tribune (Nexis) 10 Jan. a3 Debra Van isn't a parachute child—she was living with her parents in South Pasadena.
parachute course n. a course of instruction in parachuting.
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1946 R. Capell Simiomata i. 13 Tzigantis, having got round rules excluding men of his age, obtained the privilege of a parachute course.
2003 Manch. Evening News (Nexis) 4 Apr. 13 Anthony has to be fully trained to fly the capsule and he has already taken a parachute course.
parachute kid n. U.S. a child of wealthy East Asian parents who is left in the United States to attend school while his or her parents live abroad.
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1993 Los Angeles Times (Nexis) 24 June a1/1 Craig and Zoe are examples of a phenomenon so familiar in the Chinese community that there is a nickname for it; ‘parachute kids’—dropped off to live in the United States while their wealthy parents remain in Asia.
1999 USA Today (Electronic ed.) 2 Mar. a5 In the most extreme cases, parachute kids live completely on their own... More typical parachute kids are looked after, more or less, by relatives, family friends or unrelated guardians who are paid by the parents.
parachute light n. Military (now rare) a flare attached to a parachute, used for observing the position or movements of an enemy.
ΚΠ
1876 G. E. Voyle & G. de Saint-Clair-Stevenson Mil. Dict. (ed. 3) 285/2 Parachute light, a suspended light, invented by Colonel (now General) Boxer R.A., and which is used for the same purpose as ground light balls..viz. to light up the enemy's works and working parties.
1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms 432 Parachute Lights, rockets or flares fired electrically from the pilot's seat, through a tube.
1941 P. Van Paassen That Day Alone 349 His eyes turned in the direction of his own cottage, above which another parachute light was slowly floating to earth.
parachute light-ball n. Military (now rare) an explosive device containing a parachute light.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > explosive device > [noun] > bomb > aerial > dropped by parachute
parachute light-ball1868
landmine1940
1868 C. B. Norton & W. J. Valentine Rep. to Govt. U.S. on Munitions of War at Paris Universal Exhib. 1867 192 A parachute light-ball..if it only burns for a few minutes, does not reveal the position of those using it.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 869/1 This shell [sc. the Star shell]..takes the place of the older types of illuminating shell, viz. the ground light ball and the parachute light ball.
parachute tower n. a tower from which a person may make a parachute jump.
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society > travel > air or space travel > parachuting > [noun] > tower from which jump may be made
parachute tower1944
1944 Amer. Hist. Rev. 49 792 The Osoaviokhim erected parachute towers in every Russian village.
1986 L. Harris My Tale of Two Worlds 184 Most popular was the parachute tower.
parachute training n. training in the use of a parachute.
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1923 Parachute Man. (Engineering Division Air Service) 54 It is hoped that the fact that two parachutes are prescribed for parachute training will not cause the inference that any one parachute is necessarily unreliable.
1990 G. G. Liddy Monkey Handlers xi. 189 They take their primary parachute training after they complete the basic SEAL training.
parachute wings n. Military a badge representing a winged parachute, denoting the wearer's membership of a parachute regiment.
ΚΠ
1958 P. Kemp No Colours or Crest xii. 264 As a further precaution we had to remove our badges of rank and parachute wings.
1991 A. Beevor Inside Brit. Army (rev. ed.) xv. 213 The photographers focused on his SAS sand-coloured beret and the distinctively shaped SAS parachute wings.
Derivatives
ˈparachutal adj. rare of, relating to, or resembling a parachute.
ΚΠ
1930 Flight 21 Feb. 240/1 The last part of the lecture was devoted mainly to a discussion of vertical descent and to the parachutal efficiency of the autogiro.
1979 P. Redgrove in Encounter Aug. 22 The mist develops Four skeletal cobwebs in the clear hedge, Brushed white by the misty cloud, parachutal.
ˈparachutic adj. rare having or utilizing a parachute.
ΚΠ
1905 Spectator 14 Jan. 47/1 A parachutic arboreal serpent is not an impossible animal.
1995 Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee) (Nexis) 31 Dec. 1 b Young shrugged off the loss, turning instead to the next launch, the next rocket and its pillowy, parachutic descent to Earth.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
parachutev.
/ˈparəʃuːt/, U.S. /ˈpɛrəˌʃut/ 1. transitive. To convey or drop down or into a place by means of a parachute. Usually in passive.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > parachuting > convey or drop by parachute [verb (transitive)]
parachute1812
paradrop1944
parasail1964
1812 G. Colman Poet. Vagaries 18 Thy pinions next..Balloon'd me from the Schools to Town, Where I was parachuted down, A dapper Temple Student.
1946 News Chron. 2 Mar. 3 Brig. Nicholls was parachuted into Albania in October, 1943.
1956 ‘C. Blackstock’ Dewey Death ii. 27 He was with the Resistance... They parachuted him down into France.
1988 J. G. Ballard Running Wild 16 A unit of Soviet Spetnaz commandos..were parachuted by error into the Pangbourne estate.
2. intransitive. To descend by parachute; to use a parachute. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > parachuting > parachute [verb (intransitive)]
parachute1860
parasail1964
base jump1984
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > parachuting and hang-gliding > parachute and hang-glide [verb (intransitive)]
parachute1914
1860 W. H. Russell My Diary in India 1858–9 II. ix. 174 And thus, with an able-bodied aborigen holding on by my tunic-tails behind,..I parachuted down.
1888 Pall Mall Gaz. 28 Aug. 5/1 The lady who ‘parachuted’ from Clifton Suspension Bridge.
1914 G. B. Shaw Misalliance 46 Tarleton... Been up much? Lina. Not in an aeroplane. Ive parachuted; but thats child's play.
1930 E. W. Hendy Wild Exmoor 245 Meadow-pipits parachuted down to the brink.
1971 Sci. Amer. Sept. 230/1 It parachuted down over the open Pacific.
2000 Wall St. Jrnl. 21 Apr. a 1/6 When U.S. companies parachuted back into Vietnam in 1994, the popular slogan was: ‘Vietnam is no longer a war. It's a market.’
3. figurative. With in or into.
a. transitive. To introduce (an outsider) by election or appointment to a position in an organization without regard to the existing hierarchy. Frequently in passive.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > appointment to office > appoint a person to an office [verb (transitive)] > appoint unsuitably or ignoring hierarchy
pitchfork1832
shoehorn1859
parachute1968
1954 B. North & R. North tr. M. Duverger Polit. Parties ii. iii. 357 The ‘parachuting’ of candidates, so developed in the first proportional elections when some deputies had never set foot in their constituency before being elected, was radically impossible in the arrondissement system.]
1968 Listener 13 June 759/3 Too many of the existing hierarchy are civil servants ‘parachuted’ in from outside.
1975 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 4 Mar. 6/2 To redress the balance, the Government has to parachute French-Canadians from outside the civil service into senior positions.
2002 Independent 10 Jan. i. 1/1 An investigation is to be launched into the new wave of outside advisers, such as the former BBC Director General, Lord Birt, ‘parachuted’ into Downing Street by Tony Blair.
b. intransitive. To obtain a position in an organization by appointment or election without regard to the existing hierarchy.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > appointment to office > be appointed to office [verb (intransitive)] > ignoring existing hierarchy
parachute1968
1968 D. Stuebing Trudeau: Man for Tomorrow v. 39 Trudeau was accused of parachuting into Mount Royal, the term in this sense implying that the candidate was dropped into the riding under party sponsorship and over the objections of the riding association.
1973 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 9 June 6/2 Mr. Roberts prudently concluded that local Liberals would resist if an officer from the Prime Minister's office parachuted into the riding to push aside a respectable candidate, and a woman at that.
1994 Esprit de Corps (Ottawa) Aug. (insert) The arrival of one Micheline Clairoux who apparently parachuted in from the Secretary of State, and skipped one ranking from AS-5 to AS-7.
c. transitive. To send in (a person) to rectify an undesirable situation, deal with an emergency, or act as a reinforcement. Frequently in passive.
ΚΠ
1992 Rugby World & Post Jan. 57 When some of the XV disappear through injury or some other reason it means that, all of a sudden, you are dealing with a new player who has to be parachuted in.
1993 Sat. Night (Toronto) Feb. 68/2 A bleary-eyed VP would lag off a jet one night, take in a preview, hate it, and order a squadron of fix-artists parachuted in from Orlando.
1996 European 30 May 32/1 He was parachuted in by the Bank of Spain to repair serious damage which Banesto had sustained under its previous management.
Derivatives
ˈparachuted adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > parachuting > [adjective] > dropped by parachute
parachuted1942
1942 Geogr. Rev. 32 43 (caption) Box of parachuted supplies as it was found at Camp I on Mt. Wood.
1977 New Yorker 20 June 90/3 The connecting roads between tanks and parachuted troops are single lanes.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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