Carabiner

Clockwise from top left:
  • D-shaped wire gate
  • D-shaped straight gate
  • oval straight gate
  • pear-shaped auto locker
  • D-shaped screw locker.
Center is a standard carabiner rating.
Using a carabiner to connect to a rope

A carabiner or karabiner (/ˌkærəˈbnər/),[1] often shortened to biner or to crab, colloquially known as a (climbing) clip, is a specialized type of shackle, a metal loop with a spring-loaded gate[2] used to quickly and reversibly connect components, most notably in safety-critical systems. The word comes from the German Karabiner, short for Karabinerhaken, meaning "carbine hook,"[3] as the device was used by carabiniers to attach their carbines to their belts.

  1. ^ Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
  2. ^ "Climbing Dictionary & Glossary". MountainDays.net. Archived from the original on 3 January 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2006.
  3. ^ "carabiner". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.