somersault

somersault
\ \ [16] Somersaults have no connection with ‘summer’. The first element of the word means etymologically ‘over’. It comes from Old French sombresault, an alteration of an earlier sobresault. And this in turn was acquired from Provençal *sobresaut, a compound formed from sobreover, above’ (a descendant of Latin sūpra) and sautjump’ (a descendant of Latin saltus, which has close relatives in English assault, insult, sauté, etc).
\ \ Cf.ASSAULT, INSULT, RESULT, SAUTÉ

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Somersault — Solicita una imagen para este artículo. Título Somersault Ficha técnica …   Wikipedia Español

  • Somersault — (engl. für „Purzelbaum“) ist ein australischer Independentfilm, siehe Somersault – Wie Parfum in der Luft der Künstlername der Sängerin Gudrun Mittermeier, siehe Somersault (Sängerin) der ehemalige Name der Wiesbadener Band Dubplate48 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • somersault — ► NOUN 1) an acrobatic movement in which a person turns head over heels in the air or on the ground and finishes on their feet. 2) a dramatic upset or reversal of policy or opinion. ► VERB ▪ perform a somersault. ORIGIN Old French sombresault,… …   English terms dictionary

  • somersault — [sum′ərset΄sum′ər sôlt΄] n. [altered < MFr sombresault, soubresault < L supra, over + saltus, a leap < pp. of saltare: see SALTANT] an acrobatic stunt performed by turning the body one full revolution forward or backward, heels over head …   English World dictionary

  • Somersault — Som er*sault, Somerset Som er*set, n. [F. soubresaut a jump, leap, OF. soubresault, It. soprassalto an overleap, fr. L. supra over + saltus a leap, fr. salire to leap; or the French may be from Sp. sobresalto a sudden asault, a surprise. See… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • somersault — 1520s, from M.Fr. sombresault, from O.Prov. sobresaut, from sobre over (from L. supra over ) + saut a jump, from L. saltus, from the root of salire to leap (see SALIENT (Cf. salient)). Sometimes further corrupted to somerset, etc …   Etymology dictionary

  • somersault — is now the dominant spelling for the acrobatic movement, rather than summersault …   Modern English usage

  • Somersault — A somersault (sometimes salto ) is an acrobatic feat in which a person rotates around the somersault axis, moving the feet over the head. The somersault can be performed either forwards, backwards, or sideways.The word originates from the… …   Wikipedia

  • somersault — I UK [ˈsʌmə(r)ˌsɔːlt] / US [ˈsʌmərˌsɔlt] noun [countable] Word forms somersault : singular somersault plural somersaults 1) a) a movement in which you form your body into a ball and roll forwards or backwards on the ground b) a somersault… …   English dictionary

  • somersault — [[t]sʌ̱mə(r)sɔːlt[/t]] somersaults, somersaulting, somersaulted 1) N COUNT If someone or something does a somersault, they turn over completely in the air. 2) N COUNT If you say that someone does a somersault, you mean that they change suddenly… …   English dictionary

  • somersault — som|er|sault [ˈsʌməso:lt US ərso:lt] n [Date: 1500 1600; : Old French; Origin: sombresaut, from Latin super over + saltus jump ] 1.) BrE a movement in which someone rolls or jumps forwards or backwards so that their feet go over their head before …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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