somersault
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From French sombresault (now obsolete, compare French sursaut, soubresaut), from Old Occitan sobresalt, from sobre- (“over, above”) + salt (“jump”), from Latin supra (“over”) + saltus (“jump”).
Cognate with Spanish sobresaltar (“to spook, startle”) and Portuguese sobressaltar (“to spook, scare, jump over”).
Pronunciation edit
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈsʌmə(ɹ)ˌsɒlt/ IPA(key): /ˈsʌmə(ɹ)ˌsɔːlt/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - (US) IPA(key): /ˈsʌmə(ɹ)ˌsɑlt/
Noun edit
somersault (plural somersaults)
- Starting on one's feet, an instance of rotating one's body 360 degrees while airborne or on the ground, with one's feet passing over one's head.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
the act of going head over heels
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Verb edit
somersault (third-person singular simple present somersaults, present participle somersaulting, simple past and past participle somersaulted)
- To perform a somersault.
- The performer somersaulted all the way across the stage.
Translations edit
to perform somersault
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