← All words
noun, feminine

pirouette

/pi.ʁwɛt/

noun, feminine/pi.ʁwɛt/plural: pirouettes

pirouette; a whirling or turning on the toes in dancing; a whirling volt movement made by a horse

— Ah! je m'en moque pas mal! dit Charles en faisant une pirouette. La santé avant tout! Tu as tort!“Well, what the deuce do I care for that?” said Charles, making a pirouette. “Health before everything! You are wrong.”

From a Gallo-Roman root *pir- („peg, plug“, hence Italian piruolo (“peg top”)) and -ette (diminutive suffix). The word originally meant a “spinning top” (15th century).