tumbleset

tum·ble·set (tŭmʹbəl-sĕt') n. Lower Southern U.S.

See somersault.

  [Blend of tumble, somerset(alteration of somersaut, variant of somersault).]  

Regional Note: The Lower Southern word tumbleset for somersault combines tumble with -set, which at first glance seems not to have any relationship to -sault in somersault. However, -set is an old l-less variant of -sault (from Latin saltus, “a leap”) that has been an alternative pronunciation throughout the word's history; hence, the variant somerset. Somer- is an alteration of Old French sobre-, from Latin supra, “over.” In the word tumbleset, as in a folk etymology, somer-, part of a compound word that no longer bears any meaning for the speakers, has been replaced by tumble, a word that makes more sense in the context.

* * *