Acrobat, swinging on a trapeze, turning handsprings, or walking on a tightrope
Feats of agility and balance
An acrobat is adept in feats of agility, especially those requiring balance. He/She can swing on a trapeze, turn handsprings, or walk on a tightrope. The English language borrowed the term from French acrobate simply by dropping the final e. The word originated in Greek akrobatos, meaning "one who goes on a tightrope on tiptoe" (akros, "tip" [of the toes] and batos, "going"). Which is what acrobats do. The Greek akros, with the sense "highest" or "extreme", entered English as a prefix spelled acro as in acrophobia, "fear of heights", acropolis, "high city" or "city at the top".
—Freeman
The greatest of the ancient Greek acrobats were called neurobats. They performed on sinewy rope that was only as thick as the plastic used for fishing line today, appearing from the ground as if they were walking on air.
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Although all of the performers were classified as acrobats, among themselves or other well-informed people, they were separated into their several skills. The neurobat was at the top of the profession; considered among them as the true acrobat, because, as the name signified (neuron, sinew) this aerial dancer exercised his skill on tightly stretched cords the thickness of catgut. So slender was the cord that, from a slight distance, he/she appeared to be dancing lightly upon air, sometimes playing a flute as she/he danced.
—Funk
The leotard, an aerialists costume
The garment worn by acrobatic aerialists, made of a tight-fitting elastic material, covering the entire body from wrist to ankle, but having a low neckline, was named leotard after its inventor, the Frenchman, Jules Leotard, one of Europe's most famous tightrope dancers during the nineteenth century. Today a leotard is the costume that ballet dancers wear during rehearsals. —Freeman
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