# gymnastics

Pronunciation: say "jim-NAS-tiks" /d͡ʒɪmˈnæs.tɪks/

## Noun

1. A sport involving sequences of movements that require physical strength, flexibility, and a sharp sense of body position.
   - Simple: A sport where people do flips, jumps, and balancing moves that need strength and flexibility.
   - _He trained in gymnastics for a decade before qualifying for the national team._
   - _Olympic gymnastics demands both explosive power and precise control._
2. Complex intellectual or artistic feats, or impressive displays of physical agility, performed with notable skill.
   - Simple: Clever mental tricks, or impressive physical moves, that take real skill.
   - _The defense attorney's logical gymnastics nearly persuaded the jury._
   - _Explaining away the contradiction required impressive mental gymnastics._

## 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.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/gymnastics (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).