somersault

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   an acrobatic feat in which the feet roll over the head, either forward or backward, and return

   I performed a flawless somersault.

2. 2
   verb

   to perform a feat in which the feet roll over the head

   The gymnast somersaulted across the mat.

3. 3
   verb

   To perform a somersault.

   The performer somersaulted all the way across the stage.

4. 4
   noun

   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.

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”).