gymnastics
Pluralgymnastics (some meanings)
- 1A sport involving sequences of movements that require physical strength, flexibility, and a sharp sense of body position.
He trained in gymnastics for a decade before qualifying for the national team.
Olympic gymnastics demands both explosive power and precise control.
Note
The name keeps a Greek memory: gymnastikós goes back to gumnós, "naked", because Greek athletes trained naked. Despite its final -s, the sport normally takes a singular verb, as in "gymnastics was a significant part of the curriculum", the same pattern as physics. Treat it as one discipline, not as a collection of exercises.
- 2Complex intellectual or artistic feats, or impressive displays of physical agility, performed with notable skill.
The defense attorney's logical gymnastics nearly persuaded the jury.
Explaining away the contradiction required impressive mental gymnastics.
Similaracrobatics, contortions, maneuvering
Note
Here the agility has left the mat, and a modifier usually says where it went: mental gymnastics, vocal gymnastics, logical gymnastics. Ruth Borenstein, writing in Gay Community News in 1983, heard a singer's voice swoop and soar through "double time vocal gymnastics." Unlike the sport, this sense often takes a plural verb, as in "his mental gymnastics are legendary."
Practice
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Origin
It comes from Latin gymnasticus, from Ancient Greek gumnastikós, related to gumnastḗs ("athlete, gymnast") and gumnázō ("to train, exercise"), ultimately from gumnós ("naked"), because Greek athletes trained naked.