Wiktionary

pirouette

See also: Pirouette and pirouetté

English edit

WOTD – 6 February 2007

Etymology edit

Borrowed from French pirouette, see there for more; attested since 1706.[1]

Pronunciation edit

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˌpɪ.ɹʊˈɛt/, /ˌpɪ.ɹuːˈɛt/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˌpɪ.ɹəˈwɛt/, /ˌpɪ.ɹuːˈɛt/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛt

Noun edit

pirouette (plural pirouettes)

  1. A whirling or turning on the toes in dancing, primarily in ballet.
  2. The whirling about of a horse.

Translations edit

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Verb edit

pirouette (third-person singular simple present pirouettes, present participle pirouetting, simple past and past participle pirouetted)

  1. (intransitive) To perform a pirouette; to whirl on the toes, like a dancer.
    • 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter VIII:
      I came down like a sack of coals. The pulse was rapid, the blood pressure high, and for awhile the Blue Room pirouetted about me like an adagio dancer.

Translations edit

References edit

  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “pirouette”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Further reading edit

Dutch edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from French pirouette, see there for more.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˌpi.ruˈɛ.tə/
  • Audio(file)
  • Hyphenation: pi‧rou‧et‧te
  • Rhymes: -ɛtə

Noun edit

pirouette f (plural pirouettes or pirouetten)

  1. pirouette

French edit

Pronunciation edit

Etymology 1 edit

From a Gallo-Roman root *pir- („peg, plug“, hence Italian piruolo (“peg top”)) and -ette (diminutive suffix). The word originally meant a “spinning top” (15th century).[1]

Noun edit

pirouette f (plural pirouettes)

  1. a whirling or turning on the toes in dancing
  2. (sports, equestrians) a whirling volt movement made by a horse
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit

Etymology 2 edit

Verb edit

pirouette

  1. inflection of pirouetter:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading edit

References edit

  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “pirouette”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
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