noun / verb
somersault
SUM-er-sawlt/ˈsʌmərsɔːlt/
A movement in which the body turns head over heels.
The gymnast performs a forward somersault, tucking the knees as the feet pass overhead.
Etymology
The pieces give the image of an “over-leap”: a spring or fling that takes the heels over the head. The name describes the body's overturning motion.
In context
it struck him below the knees knocking his feet from under him and he fell with a sort of diver half somersault falling with the hand that grasped the knife under him
More examples
- She somersaults across the grass and lands sitting up.
- The diver performs two somersaults before entering the water.
- He somersaulted backward down the snowy slope.
Forms
somersault · somersaults · somersaulted · somersaulting