stirrup, stirop, stirrop, stirrope, styrop, styrope

[For styrope, from A. S. stíráp, stigráp, from stigan to climb, to mount, and ráp = a rope, the original stirrup being merely a rope for mounting into the saddle; O. Dut. stegel -reep, steegh-reep, from stijgen to mount, and reep =a rope; Icel. stig - reip, from stíga, and reip; German stegreif, from steigen, and reif.] I. Ord. Lang.: A leather strap, or similar device, suspended from a saddle, and having at its lower end a loop, ring, or other suitable appliance for receiving the foot of the rider, and used to a ist him in mounting a horse, as well as to enable him to sit steadily in the saddle while riding, and also to relieve him by supporting a part of the weight of the body. "Dundee turned round, stood up in his stirrups , and, waving his hat, invited them to come on." -Macaulay: Hist. Eng ., ch. xiii. Stirrups were not known to the ancients, and in the second century, B. C., the highways in and around ancient Rome were fitted with stones to enable horsemen to mount. Stirrups were intro IMG:content-0329.png:[blocks in formation] (1) To form stitches on; to sew in such a manner as to show on the surface a continuous line of stitches. (2) To unite together by sewing. "Full many a feather With twine of thread he stitch'd together." King: Art of Love. *2. Fig .: To join, to unite, to repair, to mend. "It is in your hand as well to stitch up his life again, as it was before to rent it."- Sidney: Arcadia. II. Agric .: To form into ridges. B. In trans.: To practice stitching or needlework; to sew.