People who glide on ice using ice skates, or on surfaces using roller skates or skateboards. Plural of skater.
From Dutch 'schaats' meaning 'stilt' or 'leg bone', referring to early ice skates made from animal bones. The word entered English in the 17th century when Dutch skating techniques and equipment were adopted in England.
The first ice skates were literally made from horse and cow leg bones, polished smooth and strapped to shoes - Dutch skaters were so skilled on these primitive bone blades that they could travel faster on frozen canals than on foot. Water striders, those insects that walk on water, are sometimes called 'pond skaters' because their movement across the surface tension resembles human skating.
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