full gainer
- noun
- /fʊl ˈɡeɪnər/
- Specialized
:
gainer completo
- The diver executed a full gainer, performing a perfect somersault before entering the water feet first.
Examples
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During the competition, she impressed the judges with her full gainer off the high dive.
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Might even try for a full gainer with a half twist.
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After years of practice, he finally mastered the full gainer and gained confidence in his diving skills.
Synonyms
3
9.3
A dive where the diver kicks forward and does a backward somersault into the water feet first
How Difficult
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward adjective+noun composition: 'gainer' denotes a specific diving move (a backward somersault entering feet-first) and 'full' simply specifies a complete/full rotation. This regular modifier-head pattern makes the intended meaning readily derivable by a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.
Etymology
Full gainer comes from the picture of a diver running forward, pushing off and doing a full backward flip in the air, then entering the water feet first while facing away from the board. Here full means a complete turn and gainer is the name for a backward flip done while moving forward, so the term means 'a complete backward flip entered feet first while moving forward'.