Etymo

acrobat

A performer of skilled physical feats.

Played on · Day 57 · word 2 of 5

From a way of walking to a performer

How acrobat reached English

oldest first
  1. Greek

    akróbatos

    ‘Walking on tiptoe’

  2. Middle Greek

    akrobátēs

    ‘Tightrope walker’

  3. French

    acrobate

    ‘Tightrope walker’

  4. English

    acrobat

    ‘The performer’

The story of acrobat

A Greek adjective for tiptoe walking produced a later tightrope-walker noun. French supplied the form borrowed into English.

French acrobates is an alternative supplied form, not a fifth step.

Sources

Related

The small endings distinguish an adjective from the performer’s name.

More words from 1 November 2026

  1. abseilTo descend using a rope.
  2. awkwardClumsy, uncomfortable or embarrassing.
  3. chronologyThe arrangement or dating of events.

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