Etymograph

English

acrobat

Acrobat comes from Ancient Greek ἀκροβάτης ‘walking on tiptoe, climbing aloft’, from βᾰτός ‘passable’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷeh₂- ‘to step’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷeh₂-1‘to step’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*égʷēn1reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβαίνω1baínō‘to go’next step skipped: Ancient Greek zero-grade
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβᾰτός1bătós‘passable’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀκροβάτης1akrobátēs‘walking on tiptoe, climbing aloft’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentacrobate1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1856acrobat1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English acrobat
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1856, Jonathan F. Kelley, Ralph Waldo Emerson: “We have known […] veteran reporters, so dumbfounded and…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷeh₂-Wiktionary, English acrobat‘to step’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*égʷēnWiktionary, English acrobatreconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβαίνωWiktionary, English acrobatbaínō‘to go’next step skipped: Ancient Greek zero-grade
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβᾰτόςWiktionary, English acrobatbătós‘passable’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀκροβάτηςWiktionary, English acrobatakrobátēs‘walking on tiptoe, climbing aloft’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentacrobateWiktionary, English acrobat
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1856acrobatWiktionary, English acrobat. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1856, Jonathan F. Kelley, Ralph Waldo Emerson: “We have known […] veteran reporters, so dumbfounded and…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʷeh₂- ‘to step’

gotch, bima, 4 more

through Ancient Greek βαίνω ‘to go’

diabetes, 11 more

Today it means

noun An athlete who performs acts requiring skill, agility and coordination, often as part of a circus performance.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “acrobat”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʷeh₂- / acrobat

Shirt and support for this word