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pir·ou·ette (pĭr′-ĕt)
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n.
A full turn of the body on the point of the toe or the ball of the foot in ballet.
intr.v. pir·ou·et·ted, pir·ou·et·ting, pir·ou·ettes
To execute a pirouette.
[French, from Middle French, teetotum, alteration (possibly influenced by girouette, weathervane) of Old French pirouelle, a sort of top or teetotum, ultimately (probably with influence from rouelle, little wheel, diminutive of roue, wheel) from a Romance root *pir-, peg, and akin to Middle French piron, hinge, and Italian pirolo, tuning peg.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

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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