glissade

American  

[gli-sahd, -seyd] / glɪˈsɑd, -ˈseɪd /

noun

1. a skillful glide over snow or ice in descending a mountain, as on skis or a toboggan.

2. Dance. a sliding or gliding step.

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verb (used without object)

glissaded, glissading

1. to perform a glissade.

glissade British  

/ -ˈseɪd, ɡlɪˈsɑːd /

noun

1. a gliding step in ballet, in which one foot slides forwards, sideways, or backwards

2. a controlled slide down a snow slope

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verb

1. (intr) to perform a glissade

Other Word Forms

• glissader noun

Etymology

Origin of glissade

1830–40; < French, equivalent to gliss ( er ) to slip, slide + -ade -ade ¹

Example Sentences

But the body found Monday was a bit south of the spot where hikers typically glissade — on a steep, icy section of trail known as the 99 Switchbacks, according to Stine.

From Los Angeles Times

For the glissade, Nancy glided over a few feet to the left.

From Literature

In the book, she glissades past this defining moment, which I would have liked to see her hold for a few more counts.

From Washington Post

From hiking a few miles to learning how to use an ice ax and glissade down a mountain, we trained and grew stronger together to ultimately reach the summit.

From Seattle Times

As I contemplated how to avoid glissading down the mountain, my phone powered down due to the cold and I lost my GPS tracker.

From Seattle Times