Ropen

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An old past participle of rope, describing something that has been tied, bound or fastened with a length of rope
2. Archaic form meaning having been secured or bound together by means of a rope or cord
3. Describing an object or person that was fastened, tethered or lashed in the past using rope

Etymology: In Papua New Guinea, "ropen" is the name of a legendary flying creature, and the word comes from Motu, the language spoken around Port Moresby. Accounts describe a large, leathery-winged animal that glides at night, sometimes with a long tail and a glowing body, and many people in the region have told of seeing one. The word is therefore a local name for a creature in local belief, not a term that English coined. Outside the region, the word entered English through Western writing about the creature, where it is used as the name of a cryptid, an animal whose existence has not been scientifically confirmed. Its English use is recent, and its spelling and meaning in English follow the regional name closely. The precise Motu wording and the older records of the name are not well documented in sources I can confirm, so the exact sense in the original language is best checked against specialist work on Papua New Guinean folklore.