🥃 A drinking glass 🔑 A lock part 🤸 A gymnast 🕊️ A flipping pigeon

tumbler

1 9.5

A pigeon breed that does backward flips in the air or on the ground

noun
/ˈtʌmblər/

: paloma volatinera

Jugglers, tumblers, performing dogs.

Examples

"The boys shook their heads in agreement and someone cried, "Long live the King!" Soon the others had joined in, "Long live the king of tumblers."

Fiction book (2000)
I wandered beneath acrobats, past tumblers and jugglers.

Fiction book (2002)
The performer showcased a spectacular routine as a tumbler executed flawless backward somersaults in the air.
During the competition, the skilled tumbler amazed the judges with his ability to rotate gracefully mid-flight.
As the show began, several tumblers gracefully somersaulted back to the ground, wowing the audience.

Synonyms

tumbler pigeon

vstumbler

9.9

A domestic pigeon that flips backward in flight or on the ground

is identical in meaning but omits the term domestic

Compounds

pin tumbler

Specialized

1 7.3

A set of small metal pins inside a lock that a key lines up to open it

lever tumbler

Specialized

9.1

A flat metal piece inside a lever lock that a key lifts to open the lock

tumbler pigeon

9.9

A domestic pigeon that flips backward in flight or on the ground

Surface Forms

tumbler singular

tumblers plural

Morphology

tumbler = tumble (transparent) = tumble + er

The pigeon sense names a bird that performs tumbling flips, so 'tumbler' = 'one that tumbles' is directly derivable.

Etymology

Tumbler comes from the simple verb tumble, which means 'to roll' or 'to fall'. It was used for a kind of pigeon that does backward somersaults, so the name is like 'a bird that tumbles'.