somersault

• POS: Noun, Verb (intransitive)
• HYPHEN: som=er=sault

CIDE DICTIONARY

somersault, n. [F. soubresaut a jump, leap, OF. soubresault, It. soprassalto an overleap, fr. L. supra over + saltus a leap, fr. salire to leap; or the French may be from Sp. sobresalto a sudden asault, a surprise. See Supra, and Salient.].

 A leap in which a person turns his heels over his head and lights upon his feet; a turning end over end.  Donne.  [1913 Webster]
"Now I'll only
Make him break his neck in doing a sommerset."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

somersault, n. & v. (also summersault)
--n. an acrobatic movement in which a person turns head over heels in the air or on the ground and lands on the feet.
--v.intr. perform a somersault.

Etymology

OF sombresault alt. f. sobresault ult. f. L supra above + saltus leap f. salire to leap

THESAURUS

somersault

be lost, capsizal, capsize, culbute, founder, go down, keel, keel over, overset, overthrow, overturn, pitchpole, revolution, scuttle, sink, somerset, spill, subversion, turn over, turn turtle, turnover, upset, upset the boat, upturn

ROGET THESAURUS

somersault

Inversion

N inversion, eversion, subversion, reversion, retroversion, introversion, contraposition, contrariety, reversal, turn of the tide, overturn, somersault, somerset, summerset, culbute, revulsion, pirouette, transposition, transposal, anastrophy, metastasis, hyperbaton, anastrophe, hysteron proteron, hypallage, synchysis, tmesis, parenthesis, metathesis, palindrome, pronation and supination, inverted, wrong side out, wrong side up, inside out, upside down, bottom upwards, keel upwards, supine, on one's head, topsy-turvy, sens dessus dessous, inverse, reverse, opposite, top heavy, inversely, hirdy-girdy, heels over head, head over heels.