parapente
/ˈparəpɒnt
/noun [mass noun]
1The activity of gliding by means of an aerofoil parachute launched from high ground.I did parapente for a second time, going up in a parachute over the cliff with the wind blowing me up, giving me a great bird's eye view of the city.
1.1 [count noun] A parachute used for parapenting.The pair fell off the edge, as they tried to take off in a double-harnessed parapente, a large parachute like a hang-glider....
- He [was going to] jump from the summit with a parapente.
- As she reaches a point where the slope steepens slightly, she is airborne, joining the dozen parapentes and hang gliders that are already visible circling above the town.
verb [no object]
Glide using an aerofoil parachute: he parapented off a high glacier (as noun parapenting) up-to-date sports like parapenting...
- Five years later, a solo Japanese climber who tried to parapente from the top of Nameless Tower was blown back into the wall and left stranded without food for six days until another team could descend Great Trango and climb Nameless to fetch him.
- Apparently, Iquique is one of the best places in South America to parapente because of the air currents and wind - and the great views.
Derivatives
parapenter
- Well look out onto the lakes, see jet-boats whizzing around; look up at the mountains, see parapenters jumping off everywhere, hang-gliders jumping off.
- All around me I can hear whoops and yells from other parapenters.
- A fifteen minute walk takes you to where the parapenters take off.
Origin
1980s: from French, from para(chute) + pente 'slope'.
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