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A somersault (sometimes somerset) is an acrobatic feat in which a person tucks in mid-air and moves the feet over the head. The somersault can be performed either forwards, backwards, or sideways and is synonymous with a flip (or, if performed backwards, backflip).
The word originates from the obsolete French word sombresault. In Dgèrnésiais the word is buncho.
There are many variations of front and back somersaults. A back flip is commonly associated with back somersault, yet a backflip is technically a back handspring which uses the arms to sustain the person performing the move.