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

Etymology

Origin of equilibrist

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

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

Mr. Cady greeted Bob with listless enthusiasm, teetering the while upon his cane like a Japanese equilibrist.

From The Auction Block by Beach, Rex Ellingwood

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

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

All those who have followed with some attention Mr. Bourassa's course for the last twenty years, know that he is an equilibrist of the first class.

From England, Canada and the Great War by Desjardins, Louis-Georges

Sometimes the subjects lean backward with all the grace of a perfect equilibrist, freeing themselves from the ordinary mechanical laws.

From Complete Hypnotism, Mesmerism, Mind-Reading and Spiritualism How to Hypnotize: Being an Exhaustive and Practical System of Method, Application, and Use by Alpheus, A.

Trewey is nowhere as an equilibrist, compared to a gallant veteran who breakfasted at my table, this morning.

From A Frenchman in America Recollections of Men and Things by O'Rell, Max