pirouette

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a rapid complete turn of the body on one foot or on the toes, especially in ballet

   The dancer finished the sequence with a controlled pirouette.

2. 2
   verb

   to perform a pirouette or turn rapidly in a similar way

   The skater pirouetted at the centre of the rink.

Borrowed from French pirouette, a spinning top and then a dancer's turn. The French word is related to pirouet, an old term for a small peg or spinning object; English has used the ballet term since the early eighteenth century.

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