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pike ⁶

(pīk)

A mid-air position in sports such as diving and gymnastics in which the athlete bends to touch the feet or grab the calves or back of the thighs while keeping the legs together and straight.

[Probably from PIKE² (from the resemblance of the position to the fish's head ).]

(click for a larger image)

pike6

Tania Cagnotto of Italy

at the 2009 FINA World

Swimming Championships

Rome, Italy

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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