Sherpa

[shur-puh]

noun

plural

Sherpas ,

plural

Sherpa .

1. a member of a people of Tibetan descent living in the Nepalese Himalayas, who often serve as porters on mountain-climbing expeditions.

2. a Tibetic language spoken by the Sherpa.

3. Sometimes sherpa an expert chosen by a chief executive to assist in preparations for a summit meeting.

Sherpa

¹

/ ˈʃɜːpə /

noun

1. a member of a people of Mongolian origin living on the southern slopes of the Himalayas in Nepal, noted as mountaineers

sherpa

²

/ ˈʃɜːpə /

noun

1. an official who makes preparations for or assists a government representative or important delegate at a summit meeting or conference

Word History and Origins

Origin of Sherpa¹

First recorded in 1840–50; from Sherpa sharpa, equiavalent to shar “east” + pa “people” (referring to the origin of this people in eastern Tibet)

Word History and Origins

Origin of Sherpa¹

C20: from _Sherpa , a member of a people noted for providing assistance to mountaineers: from a pun on the different senses of _summit

Example Sentences

Kanchha Sherpa, the last surviving member of the first expedition to successfully scale the summit of Mount Everest, has died in the Nepali capital Kathmandu, aged 92.

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Kanchha Sherpa was the last surviving member of the 1953 expedition that saw Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa become the first to summit the world's highest mountain.

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This is highly unusual for October "when we expect the skies to remain clear," said Riten Jangbu Sherpa, a mountain guide, adding that trekkers have been increasingly caught in unexpected extreme weather in recent years.

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"Kami Rita Sherpa needs no introduction. He is not just a national climbing hero, but a global symbol of Everest itself," expedition organiser Seven Summit Treks said in a statement.

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That record still belongs to Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa, who climbed from base camp to the summit in 10 hours and 56 minutes in 2003 – but he did this after acclimatising on the mountain.

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