parachute

Etymology

Borrowed from French parachute, from para- (“protection against”) (as in parasol) and chute (“fall”).

noun

1. (aviation) A device, generally constructed from fabric, that is designed to employ air resistance to control the fall of an object or person, causing them to float instead of falling.
2. (zoology) A web or fold of skin extending between the legs of gliding mammals, such as the flying squirrel and colugo.
3. (BDSM) A small collar which fastens around the scrotum and from which weights can be hung.
   Under that there are dildos and butt-plugs arranged by size on two shelves: two fat butt-plugs and four small ones, four two-headed dildos, eight ordinary dildos. Under that, the little material hanging on nails: five different pairs of nipple clamps, some clothespins, a parachute for the balls, a dog collar, two hoods, one in leather, one in latex, six cockrings, in steel or leather, regular or with built-in ball-squeezers, two dick sheaths […] 1998, Guillaume Dustan, translated by Brad Rumph, In My Room, London: Serpent’s Tail, page 53
   Parachutes are usually made of leather and can be purchased through most fetish catalogs or stores catering to the BDSM scene. 2012, Peggy Sue, Guide to Female Supremacy, London: Gynarchy International Editions / Lulu Press, page 75
   She came near and grabbed his balls tightly with her left hand, tugging them downward while applying a parachute harness with her right hand. […] His balls stretched downward under the delicious weight. 2016, John Caesar, Wife Scorned!, Lulu.com
   A parachute is a small collar, usually made from leather, which fastens around the scrotum, and from which weights can be hung. 2022, Mohamed A. Baky Fahmy, “Scrotum in Human Conscience”, in Mohamed A. Baky Fahmy, editor, Normal and Abnormal Scrotum, Cham, Switzerland: Springer, →DOI, page 22
4. A large sheet of fabric used in children's physical education, often colorful, with handles allowing many people to control its motion.

verb

1. (intransitive) To jump, fall, descend, etc. using such a device.
   Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between. For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle from a basket or parachute down to earth. 2013-06-07, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36
2. (transitive) To introduce into a place using such a device.
   The soldiers were parachuted behind enemy lines.
3. (transitive) To place (somebody) in an organisation in a position of authority without their having previous experience there; used with in or into.