acrobat

acrobat
\ \ [19] The Greek adjective ákros meant ‘topmost, at the tip or extremity’ (it derives ultimately from the Indo-European base *akmeaning ‘be pointed or sharp’, which also gave rise to acid, acute, oxygen, and edge). It crops up in acrophobia ‘fear of heights’; in acropolis ‘citadel’, literally ‘upper city’; in acromegaly ‘unnaturally enlarged condition of the hands, feet, and face’, literally ‘large extremities’; and in acronym, literally ‘word formed from the tips of words’. Acrobat itself means literally ‘walking on tiptoe’. The -bat morpheme comes from Greek baínein ‘walk’, which is closely related to basis and base, and is also connected with come. Akrobátēs existed as a term in Greek, and reached English via French acrobate.
\ \ Cf.⇒ ACID, ACUTE, EDGE, OXYGEN

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую
Synonyms:
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  • Acrobat — Acrobat,   eine 1993 von Adobe vorgestellte Software, die es möglich macht, Dokumente zu speichern und zu lesen, unabhängig davon, mit welcher Anwendung sie erstellt wurden. Jeder Nutzer kann so Dokumente betrachten, ohne dass das zugrunde… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Acrobat — may refer to: * Someone who practices acrobatics * Adobe Acrobat, a family of computer programs for making or reading PDF files * Acrobat (song), from U2 s 1991 album Achtung Baby * Acrobat , a song from Maxïmo Park s 2005 album A Certain Trigger …   Wikipedia

  • acrobat — ACROBÁT, Ă, acrobaţi, te, s.m. şi f. Gimnast care execută exerciţii de echilibristică. ♦ fig. Persoană inconsecventă în comportare, în idei etc.; persoană care caută să epateze, să iasă din comun. – Din fr. acrobate. Trimis de ana zecheru,… …   Dicționar Român

  • Acrobat — ist: eine Handelsmarke der Firma Adobe Systems für verschiedene Computer Programme, siehe Adobe Acrobat eine andere Schreibweise für Akrobat …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Acrobat — Ac ro*bat, n. [F. acrobate, fr. Gr. ? walking on tiptoe, climbing aloft; ? high + ? to go.] One who practices rope dancing, high vaulting, or other daring gymnastic feats. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • acrobat — (n.) 1825, from Fr. acrobate (14c.), tightrope walker, and directly from Gk. akrobates rope dancer, gymnastic performer, related to akrobatos going on tip toe, climbing up high, from akros topmost, at the point end (see ACRID (Cf. acrid)) + stem… …   Etymology dictionary

  • acrobat — [n] performer who does tricks, physical feats aerialist, artist, athlete, balancer, clown, contortionist, dancer, funambulist, gymnast, performer, stunt person, trapezist, tumbler; concept 352 Ant. clod …   New thesaurus

  • acrobat — ► NOUN ▪ an entertainer who performs acrobatics. ORIGIN Greek akrobat s, from akrobatos walking on tiptoe …   English terms dictionary

  • acrobat — [ak′rə bat΄] n. [Fr acrobate < Gr akrobatos, walking on tiptoe < akros (see ACRO ) + bainein, to walk, go] an expert performer of tricks in tumbling or on the trapeze, tightrope, etc.; skilled gymnast acrobatic adj. acrobatically adv …   English World dictionary

  • Acrobat® — /akˈrə bat/ (computing) noun A computing language for text and graphics, designed for use with different operating systems …   Useful english dictionary

  • Acrobat — Adobe Acrobat Pour les articles homonymes, voir Reader. Adobe Acrobat …   Wikipédia en Français

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