tumbester

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A female tumbler or dancer. As the professional dancers of medieval times were usually also tumblers or acrobats, the words for dance and tumble were commonly used as synonymous. (Compare hop, dance, hopster, a female dancer, Latin saltator, saltatrix, a dancer, literally ‘leaper.’) The daughter of Herodias, who danced before Herod, is often pictured in medieval art as tumbling, walking on her hands, or standing on her head. Compare tumble, 5.
2. n. [In this passage the word is the same as the above, but it is an erroneous translation of the Old French tymberesse, a female player on the tambour (tymbre).]