skater

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a person who ice-skates, roller-skates, or skateboards

   The young skater practised turns on the frozen pond every morning.

2. 2
   noun

   a water strider, an insect that moves rapidly across the surface of still water

   A skater darted across the pond without breaking the surface film.

From skate + the agent suffix -er. The human sense names someone who moves on skates or a skateboard. The insect sense is metaphorical: water striders appear to skate over the water because their water-repellent legs distribute their weight across the surface.

Topics