[TowerTalk] root of guy wire?

[Jim Lux]

At 02:43 PM 11/5/2003 -0500, Matt Beer wrote:
>This may sound strange but, what is the root of the term guy wire or just 
>singly "guy" as a support.  Where did it originate from?

guy
n.
A rope, cord, or cable used to steady, guide, or secure something.

tr.v. guyed, guy·ing, guys
To steady, guide, or secure with a rope, cord, or cable.


[Partly from Middle English gie, guide, guy (from Old French guie, from 
guier, to guide. See weid- in Indo-European Roots), and partly from Low 
German; akin to Dutch gei, brail.]

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth 
Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.


guy

\Guy\, n. [Sp. guia guide, a guy or small rope used on board of ships to 
keep weighty things in their places; of Teutonic origin, and the same word 
as E. guide. See Guide, and cf. Gye.] A rope, chain, or rod attached to 
anything to steady it; as: a rope to steady or guide an object which is 
being hoisted or lowered; a rope which holds in place the end of a boom, 
spar, or yard in a ship; a chain or wire rope connecting a suspension 
bridge with the land on either side to prevent lateral swaying; a rod or 
rope attached to the top of a structure, as of a derrick, and extending 
obliquely to the ground, where it is fastened.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.