What is "sherpa"

1847, from Tibetan, literally "dweller in an eastern country."

n. 1 A male of the Sherpa people employed as a mountain guide or porter. 2 An expert sent by a country’s leader to a summit meeting. 3 (context slang English) a mountain climbing porter 4 A synthetic fabric with a long, thick pile, similar to faux fur, imitation lamb wool(,) or fleece. vb. (context rare English) To serve as a guide or porter for another.

The Sherpa people are an ethnic group in eastern Nepal.

Sherpa may also refer to:

• Sherpa language

A sherpa is the personal representative of a head of state or government who prepares an international summit, particularly the annual G8 Summit. Between the G8 summits there are multiple sherpa conferences where possible agreements are laid out. This reduces the amount of time and resources required at the negotiations of the heads of state at the final summit. The name sherpa—without further context—refers to sherpas for the G8 summit but the designation can be spread for different regular conferences where the participation of the respective head of state is required. The sherpa is generally quite influential, although they generally lack the authority to independently make the final decision about any given agreement.

The name is derived from the Sherpa people, a Nepalese ethnic group, who serve as guides and porters in the Himalayas, a reference to the fact that the sherpa clears the way for a head of state at a major summit. The name was originally of informal usage in between the states of the European Union where personal representatives prepare work for the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) meetings. While the position of a chief negotiator can be traced back under varying names to the first days of the European Union process the name has caught on as an official reference just lately on the designation of a high profile group on competition regulation in the European chemistry that names officially a "Sherpa-Subgroup".

Sherpa is a French law association, founded in 2001. Its mission is to protect and defend victims of financial crimes.

Sherpa has three employees:

• Maud Perdriel-Vassiere, Managing Director and Head of Program Development
• Sandra Cossart, Programme Manager of Globalization and Human Rights
• Rachel Leenhardt, Communications Officer

Its programs include identifying illicit financial flows and development, globalization and human rights, legal assistance and research.

SHERPA (Securing a Hybrid Environment for Research Preservation and Access) is an organisation originally set up in 2002 to run and manage the SHERPA Project.

Sherpa is an Australian company that provides on-demand delivery through technology and a network of crowdsourced couriers. Users can have anything delivered locally in less than 2 hours.

Sherpa is a 2015 documentary film by Australian filmmaker Jennifer Peedom. It was filmed during the 2014 Mount Everest ice avalanche.