Skip to the word

Added 8 October 2026

somersault

/ˈsʌməˌsɒlt/ noun

Latin root: suprā Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about somersault at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

An acrobatic feat in which the feet roll over the head (either forward or backward) and return.

verb

Do a somersault.

Origin

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”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word