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funambulist

[fyoo-nam-byuh-list]
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR funambulist ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a tightrope walker.

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RELATED WORDS

gymnast, dancer, clown, performer, tumbler, athlete, artist, contortionist, aerialist, balancer

Origin of funambulist

1785–95; < Latin fūnambul(us) ropedancer + -ist
Related formsfu·nam·bu·lism, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for funambulist

funambulist

noun

a tightrope walker
Derived Formsfunambulism, noun

Word Origin for funambulist

C18: from Latin fūnambulus rope dancer, from fūnis rope + ambulāre to walk
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for funambulist
n.

"rope-walker," 1793, coined from Latin funis "rope" + ambulare "to walk" (see amble (v.)).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper