Clymbynge

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. Ascending a height by gripping and pulling oneself upward, as an archaic Middle English form of the activity
2. The action of moving upward over steep ground or a structure using hands and feet, an older spelling of the word
3. Mounting upward toward a higher point through effort and handholds, a medieval English variant of the modern term

Etymology: "Clymbynge" is a Middle English spelling of "climbing," the "-ing" form of "climb." The "y" and "-ynge" spellings were common variant ways of writing the sounds of the period, before English spelling was standardized. "Climb" descends from Old English "climban," a verb meaning to ascend by using the hands and feet. Its Germanic relatives include Old High German "klimban," so the verb was already established in the early Germanic languages.