English Explanatory Dictionary

somersault

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. 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.
verb
  1. To perform a somersault.

Pronunciation

/ˈsʌməˌsɒlt/ /ˈsʌməˌsɔːlt/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-somersault.wav /ˈsʊməˌsɒlt/ /ˈsʌmɚˌsɔlt/ /ˈsʌmɚˌsɑlt/

Word forms

somersault somersaults somerset summersault somersaulting somersaulted

Etymology

From French sombresault (now obsolete, compare French sursaut, soubresaut), from Old Occitan sobresalt, from sobre- (“over, above”) + salt (“jump”), from Latin suprā (“over”) + saltus (“jump”). Doublet of soubresaut. Cognate with Spanish sobresaltar (“to spook, startle”) and Portuguese sobressaltar (“to spook, scare, jump over”).

Synonyms

salto summy

Related words

flip

Derived words

back somersault front somersault moonsault somersaulter somersault signal summy
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