Acrobat

Acrobat, a word derived from the Greek, and nearly synonymous with rope-dancer. It literally signifies one who walks on tiptoe (akron, 'extremity,' and baïno, 'I go'); and is employed to designate those who perform difficult feats, vaulting, sliding, tumbling, and dancing on a slack or tight rope, stretched either horizontally or obliquely. These feats require great skill, suppleness, and steadiness. For a long time, acrobats were contented to divert and astonish only children or the most ignorant of the populace; but the extraordinary skill of some recent performers has given this perilous art a great celebrity. Within the 19th century, Farioso, Madame Saqui, and Signor Diavolo have excited admiration by their marvellous agility; Blondin was even more widely known. The acrobats of antiquity appear to have closely resembled those of our own day.