somersault
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somersault
- /ˈsʌməˌsɒlt/ UK
- /ˈsʌməˌsɔːlt/ UK
- /ˈsʊməˌsɒlt/ Northern England
- /ˈsʌmɚˌsɔlt/ US
- /ˈsʌmɚˌsɑlt/ cot caught merger
Where it comes from
From French sombresault (now obsolete, compare French sursaut, soubresaut), from Old Occitan sobresalt, from sobre- (“over, above”) + salt (“jump”), from Latin suprā (“over”) + saltus (“jump”). Doublet of soubresaut.
Cognate with Spanish sobresaltar (“to spook, startle”) and Portuguese sobressaltar (“to spook, scare, jump over”).
noun somersaults · somerset · summersault
verb somersaults · somersaulting · somersaulted · somerset · summersault
-
To perform a somersault.
Near-synonym: backflip
Similar: backflip
Translations
Every language
noun the act of going head over heels
| Español | voltereta, salto mortal, volatín |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 공중제비 gongjungjebi |
| 日本語 | 宙返り chūgaeri |
| 中文 | 筋斗 jīndǒu, 跟頭 /跟头 gēntou |
| Kiswahili | kichwangomba |
| Português | salto mortal, cambalhota |
| Français | salto, saut périlleux, galipette |
| Deutsch | Salto, Überschlag, Kopsibolter, Purzelbaum |
| Italiano | capriola |
| Ελληνικά | κυβίστηση kyvístisi, τούμπα toúmpa |
| Română | tumbă, rostogolire |
| Русский | кульби́т kulʹbít, кувыро́к kuvyrók, са́льто sálʹto |
| Tiếng Việt | lộn, nhào lộn |
| עברית | סַלְטָה sálta, גִּלְגּוּל gilgúl |
verb to perform somersault
| 中文 | 翻筋斗 fān jīndǒu, 翻跟頭 /翻跟头 fān gēntou, 翻跟頭兒 /翻跟头儿, 吃跟頭兒 /吃跟头儿, 栽跟頭 /栽跟头, 踏跟頭 /踏跟头 |
|---|---|
| Português | dar um mortal |
Talk about this word "somersault." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/somersault. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. somersault. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/somersault "somersault." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/somersault.Cite this
@misc{somersault_2026,
title = {somersault},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/somersault},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
