Aerialist
/ˈeə.ri.ə.lɪst/noun
A performer, especially in circus arts, who works high in the air on ropes, silks, trapezes, or similar apparatus.
Did you know?The ending -ist comes from Greek -istēs, a suffix for a person devoted to a practice, so an aerialist is basically a “sky-practitioner” in linguistic disguise.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Gk
aēr
“air, mist, the lower atmosphere”
Latin
Lat
aerius
“of the air; airy, lofty”
Late Latin / Medieval Latin
Lat
aerialis
“of or belonging to the air”
19th Century
English
aerial
“relating to the air; performed in the air”
19th Century
English
aerialist
“a person who performs aerial feats”