Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. An acrobatic stunt in which the body rolls forward or backward in a complete revolution with the knees bent and the feet coming over the head. Also called somerset; also called regionally tumbleset.
- n. A complete reversal, as of sympathies or opinions.
- v. To execute a somersault.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A spring or fling in which a person turns heels over head; a complete turn in the air, such as is performed by tumblers.
Wiktionary
- n. In gymnastics, an act where the gymnast turns head over heels
- v. To perform a somersault.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A leap in which a person turns his heels over his head and lights upon his feet; a turning end over end.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an acrobatic feat in which the feet roll over the head (either forward or backward) and return
- v. do a somersault
Etymologies
- Obsolete French sombresault, variant of sobresault, from Old Provençal sobresaut : sobre-, above (from Latin suprā) + saut, leap (from Latin saltus, from past participle of salīre, to leap). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
““I know a lot of people are in somersault land,” Representative Rahm Emanuel, Democrat of Illinois and chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said reproachfully of fellow Democrats.”
“Except he just did some kind of somersault which looked much more agile than anything anyone would have expected of him.”
Voice of the Fans: What's Your Most Memorable Convention Experience?
“Apparently he decided to "somersault" off the bed in the middle of the night and ended up with a bloody nose.”
“The National Party's "somersault" on the indemnity issue indicates that it has caved in to the African National Congress, the Conservative Party said in a statement in Pretoria on”
“The youth leader said the SABC's "somersault" in deciding to continue screening the programme was evident of the corporation's weakness under pressure from the South African Communist Party and the ANC.”
“From these more or less contemptuous views of mankind at large Mr. Channing turns with a kind of somersault to an intense admiration for Thoreau.”
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 12, No. 33, December, 1873
“I suppose she forgot to keep her neck thrown back, or to draw in her breath properly; at any rate, up went her heels, and down went her head, and she seemed suddenly to turn a kind of somersault in the water.”
“The thought roused him to still greater exertions, and at last by a heroic effort he succeeded in turning a kind of somersault in his cold prison, which had the happy result of putting his head where his heels had been.”
“Chicory turned a rough kind of somersault as he caught sight of his brother sitting up and doing that which was dear to Chicory's own heart -- eating; and as there was a good share of food beside Coffee, the tired brother made no scruple about going to join him and help him eat.”
“Look you, if you plant a bullet just below an Indian's navel, you will see him do a double somersault, which is more wonderful to behold than any circus performance you ever saw. ”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘somersault’.
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Beautiful Compound Words
aftermath, afterthought, butterfly, campfire, colorblind, backhand, crossword, cupcake, dollhouse, drawbridge, dreadlock, dreamscape and 73 more...
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Words I like
This is a list of my favourite words (phrases) in english, as a second language. I love them mostly because of how they sound and their meaning.
ninja, cookie, skill, zip, plentiful, digg, debris, pancake, cucumber, fetch, pot, backpack and 461 more...
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Favorite Words
i love words.
ricochet, clavicle, etymology, equivocate, decoupage, dillydally, effervescent, flimflam, haberdashery, hullabaloo, debacle, juxtapose and 210 more...
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logophile
viresce, infinitum, transient, nonpareil, anon, therianthropy, lycomania, halcyon, unblinkered, seraphim, nephilim, moros and 160 more...
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Hitchhiker's GTTG book
heave, consternation, jolt, admonish, menial, dismal, trudge, stale, dank, treacherous, feedline, somersault and 1 more...
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verbs
individualize, eroticize, propense, instantiate, minify, spritzes, somersault, graffitied, fabulize, genuflect, traipse, concatenate and 26 more...
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Poetrie: Beginner's Lessons
by Malcolm Alexander
If you wish to be wealthy, duck beneath
the topcoat of a well-dressed river
until you come up with a mossy boot
filled with shiners. Spend them w...easy, laugh out loud, bend it, poem, meteor, lacewing, beware, listen, aria, orchid, voicebox, trace and 45 more...
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first list
made at work 12/21/2006.
skein, lucent, evening, amygdala, echo, clasp, grey, wrist, sibilance, picnic, parlour, marsupial and 9 more...
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Action Verbs
snatch, skitter, skewer, splay, retch, scamper, scurry, amble, amble, bound, canter, dart and 63 more...
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best words
kéblo, simili, déviant, drolatique, flûte, hiha, croquer, derechef, mignardise, maussade, nigaud, morose and 54 more...
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homophonic
Tweets
Looking for tweets for somersault.
maesepedro It's an excellent spelling from the point of view of creative misspellings:
summersalt - the type of salt especially suited to the months between June and September.
Sumassault - the total military force exerted at a particular point in the enemy's line at a particular time. Jun 21, 2009
sidheag I've always loved how this word is spelled. Nov 18, 2008