equilibrist

American  

[ih-kwil-uh-brist, ee-kwuh-lib-rist, ek-wuh-] / ɪˈkwɪl ə brɪst, ˌi kwəˈlɪb rɪst, ˌɛk wə- /

noun

1. a performer who is skilled at balancing in unusual positions and hazardous movements, as a tightrope walker in a circus.

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equilibrist British  

/ ɪˈkwɪlɪbrɪst /

noun

1. a person who performs balancing feats, esp on a high wire

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Other Word Forms

• equilibristic
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of equilibrist

From the French word équilibriste, dating back to 1750–60. See equilibrium, -ist

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Explanation

An equilibrist is a person who performs daring feats of balance. If you had to carry supplies across a sagging rope bridge with no handrails, being an equilibrist would help. Most equilibrists are performers who've mastered the art of equilibrium, such as circus tightrope walkers and high-wire acrobats. An equilibrist might balance on their hands, ride a unicycle, or perform atop a stack of chairs. A particularly daring equilibrist might walk across a steep canyon on a slackwire (a loose rope that can sway from side to side, unlike a tightrope) while juggling! The word equilibrist is sometimes used figuratively to describe someone balancing many different tasks and competing interests at once.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

equilibrist

Besides her chief accomplishment she possessed wonderful strength and was a skilled equilibrist.

From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Walter L. (Walter Lytle) Pyle

Or merely a feint to thrill us?—the feint of an equilibrist so secure that he can pretend to lose his balance?

From And Even Now by Sir Max Beerbohm

Nor do I see my way clear in providing for the steeple-climber, the equilibrist, the railroad president, or the tea-taster.

From Reveries of a Schoolmaster by Francis B. Pearson

Naturally a good equilibrist, the girl took easily to the motor-cycle, and even when Joe went at top speed on some smooth road she liked it.

From Joe Strong, the Boy Fish or Marvelous Doings in a Big Tank by Vance Barnum

The steward brought me my coffee, and, wedged by boxes and pillows, like an equilibrist, I sat up and drank it. 

From The Mutiny of the Elsinore by Jack London

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