orbiteer

American  

[awr-bi-teer] / ˌɔr bɪˈtɪər /

verb (used with object)

1. to climb (a mountain) in a circular fashion as opposed to scaling.

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verb (used without object)

1. to climb a mountain in this way.

Other Word Forms

• orbiteering noun

Etymology

Origin of orbiteer

First recorded in 1985–90; orbit ( def. ) (in the sense “move in an orbital or elliptical path”) + -eer ( def. ); possibly coined by Edward “Ned” Gillette (1945-98), U.S. mountaineer, skier, and author

Example Sentences

Knox's brainchild, the Orbiteer, is to the Frisbie* what the Fairlane is to the model T. An 18-in. soft-plastic disk of six blades extending from the hub, with a handle shaped like the ionizer of a space station, it is thrown into the wind on an axis perpendicular to the ground.

From Time Magazine Archive

Inventor Knox, 35, a designer of medical instruments, owns the Orbiteer outright through the Knox Instrument Co., of which he is president.

From Time Magazine Archive

Orders for the Orbiteer have already run over 775,000.

From Time Magazine Archive