antipodist
|an-ti-pod-ist|
/ænˈtɪpəˌdɪst/
person on the opposite side; foot-performer
Etymology
'antipodist' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'antipodes', where 'anti-' meant 'opposite' and 'pous/podos' meant 'foot'.
'antipodist' derived from the Greek 'antipodes' which passed into Latin and then Middle English as 'antipodes'; in English the base 'antipode/antipodes' later took the agentive suffix '-ist' to form 'antipodist' to denote either an inhabitant of the antipodes or a performer.
Initially, it primarily meant 'a person living on the opposite side of the Earth', but over time it also came to be used for 'a performer who uses the feet for juggling or acrobatic acts', while retaining the geographical sense.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a person who lives at or is from the antipodes — the point on the Earth diametrically opposite to another point.
He joked that his friend in Wellington was his antipodist, living almost exactly on the opposite side of the planet.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/09/07 09:34