Etymology

redpoint

R1E1D2P3O1I1N1T1

Today it means: To free-climb (a route), while lead climbing, after having practiced the route beforehand. Full definition →

German Rotpunkt
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The story

  1. German · derived fromRotpunkt
  2. English todayredpoint

From red + point, as a calque of German Rotpunkt, coined by Kurt Albert in the mid-1970s at Frankenjura. He would paint a red X on a fixed pin that he could avoid using for a foothold or handhold.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.