glissade

1 of 2

verb

glis·​sade gli-ˈsäd How to pronounce glissade (audio) -ˈsād How to pronounce glissade (audio)
glissaded; glissading

intransitive verb

1
: to perform a ballet glissade
2
: to slide in a standing or squatting position down a snow-covered slope without the aid of skis
glissader noun

glissade

2 of 2

noun

1
: a gliding step in ballet
2
: the action of glissading

Examples of glissade in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Friction associated with the sliding and heat rising from Earth’s core together form streams of meltwater just below the sheet, lubricating the ice in some areas and facilitating those areas’ glissade off the rock and into the ocean. Aylin Woodward, WSJ, 5 May 2022 As of Saturday, some snow was left at the top of the mountain but racers shouldn’t plan on glissading down it. Author: Kat Sorensen, Anchorage Daily News, 2 July 2019 The best part, however, is glissading down the gully on the way back. Tegan Hanlon, Anchorage Daily News, 15 June 2018 Glissading involves sliding down a steep, snowy slope, usually while seated, and controlling the speed of the slide with the spike of an ice ax. Evan Bush, The Seattle Times, 5 June 2017 Last year, a 24-year-old man was glissading down the pass and plunged over the edge of a waterfall hole. Evan Bush, The Seattle Times, 5 June 2017
Noun
Twists and torques, leaps and lunges, relevé and glissade—the body is the canvas upon which the choreographer paints murals of social flux and personal epiphany. Hamilton Cain, The Atlantic, 28 Nov. 2022 Stocks continued their glissade in June, although the OBJ Outdoor Index fared slightly better than the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq. Steve Larese, Outside Online, 8 July 2022 Messner followed Habeler’s glissade track down on foot, marveling at the risks his friend had taken during the descent. Grayson Schaffer, Outside Online, 15 Sep. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'glissade.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

French, noun, slide, glissade, from glisser to slide, from Old French glicier, alteration of glier, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German glītan to glide

First Known Use

Verb

1837, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1843, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of glissade was in 1837

Dictionary Entries Near glissade

Cite this Entry

“Glissade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glissade. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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