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

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

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 Pearson, Francis B.

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 Beerbohm, Max, Sir

They are narrow enough to test the skill of an equilibrist, and it may be they are put down to drill the courtiers in that useful art.

From Empires and Emperors of Russia, China, Korea, and Japan Notes and Recollections by Monsignor Count Vay de Vaya and Luskod by Vay, P?ter

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 Barnum, Vance