A forward or sideways rolling movement where your hands and feet alternate touching the ground, or the wheels on a cart.
Compound of 'cart' (Old English 'cræt') and 'wheel' (Old English 'hwēol'). The acrobatic meaning comes from the visual similarity to a wheel turning.
A cartwheel is a perfect example of how our brains understand new movements by comparing them to things we already know—people literally named the gymnastics move after an actual cartwheel's spinning motion!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.