somersault

Meanings

Noun

• Starting on one's feet, an instance of rotating one's body 360 degree while airborne or on the ground, with one's feet going over one's head.

Verb

• To perform a somersault.

Origin

• From French sombresault (now obsolete, compare French sursaut, soubresaut), from Old Occitan sobresalt, from sobre- + salt. Cognate with Spanish sobresaltar ("to spook, startle") and Portuguese sobressaltar ("to spook, scare, jump over").