Meaning

noun something to which a mountain climber's rope can be secured

verb turn a rope round an object or person in order to secure it or him

verb fasten a boat to a bitt, pin, or cleat

originFrom Middle English beleggen, bileggen, from Old English beleċġan (“to cover, invest, surround, afflict, attribute to, charge with, accuse”), From Proto-West Germanic *bilaggjan, equivalent to be- (“about, around”) + lay. Cognate with Dutch beleggen (“to cover, overlay, belay”), German belegen (“to cover, occupy, belay”), Swedish belägga (“to pave”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0