chockstone means A stone, ranging in size from a boulder to a pebble, which has become wedged in a vertical fissure or cleft. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 88 out of 100.
chockstone is pronounced /ˈtʃɒkstəʊn/.
Etymology
From chock + stone. The climbing sense derives from the wedges' use as artificial chockstones.
noun
- A stone, ranging in size from a boulder to a pebble, which has become wedged in a vertical fissure or cleft.“In these coldest hours before dawn, from three until six, I take up my knife again and hack at the chockstone. I continue to make minimal but visible progress in the divot.”
- A metal wedge or nut, threaded on a wire, used in rock climbing for protection by wedging it into a crack in the rock.