glissade

[gli-sahd, -seyd]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR glissade ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

Dance. a sliding or gliding step.

verb (used without object), glis·sad·ed, glis·sad·ing.

to perform a glissade.

Origin of glissade

1830–40; < French, equivalent to gliss(er) to slip, slide + -ade -ade¹

Related formsglis·sad·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for glissade

stream, skip, float, waft, skate, skim, slip, trip, decline, sail, spiral, descend, roll, soar, shoot, run, slink, drift, coast, fly

Examples from the Web for glissade

Historical Examples of glissade

There is our resting-place, herr,” he said, “with a perfect bit of snow for a glissade.
The Crystal Hunters
George Manville Fenn
It is called the hashiri (glissade); and we are to descend at a run!
Exotics and Retrospectives
Lafcadio Hearn
The first part of the way down to the saddle we attempted a glissade.
Inca Land
Hiram Bingham
It was in deep winter weather and Timur had to be let down the snows by glissade in a basket guided by ropes.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 15, Slice 6
Various
We crept up it, and from the summit descended by a glissade to the frontal portion of the cavern.
The Glaciers of the Alps
John Tyndall

British Dictionary definitions for glissade

glissade

noun

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

a controlled slide down a snow slope

verb

(intr) to perform a glissade

Derived Formsglissader, noun

Word Origin for glissade

C19: from French, from glisser to slip, from Old French glicier, of Frankish origin; compare Old High German glītan to glide

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 glissade

in dancing sense, 1832 (v.), 1843 (n.), from French glissade, from glisser "to slip, slide" (13c.), from a Germanic source (cf. Dutch glissen), from Proto-Germanic *glidan "to glide" (see glide).