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trapeze

 - 3 dictionary results

tra⋅peze

  [tra-peez or, especially Brit., truh-]
–noun
1. an apparatus, used in gymnastics and acrobatics, consisting of a short horizontal bar attached to the ends of two suspended ropes.
2. (on a small sailboat) a device by which a crew member can be suspended almost completely outboard while hiking.
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Origin:
1860–65; < F, special use of trapèze trapezium
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To trapeze
tra·peze   (trā-pēz', trə-)   
n.  

  1. A short horizontal bar suspended from two parallel ropes, used for gymnastic exercises or for acrobatic stunts.

  2. An article of women's clothing, such as a jacket, dress, or coat, that is cut so as to hang down from the shoulders and swing out and away around the hips and legs.


[French trapèze, from Late Latin trapezium, trapezoid; see trapezium.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

trapeze 
1861, from Fr. trapèze, from L.L. trapezium (see trapezium), probably because the crossbar, the ropes and the ceiling formed a trapezium.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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