Bobsled

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. A sled designed for racing on ice that accommodates multiple team members and typically follows a specific track layout
2. A competitive winter sport involving a long, streamlined sled on which teams navigate through a course on ice
3. A type of sledding vehicle utilized in winter sports that allows for high-speed descent along icy tracks

Etymology: Bobsled is a compound of two words that each had their own separate lives before being joined. The "sled" half descends from Proto-Germanic "slidô," a word tied to the idea of sliding, which passed through Old Dutch and Middle Dutch "sledde" and Middle English "sledde" before becoming the English "sled." The "bob" half is the more unexpected one: it is an older English word whose sense of a short, quick jerking motion, as in bobbing up and down, gave the name to the sled's rapid, bouncing run down a track. The combination is a plain, transparent formation rather than a coinage with a famous backstory. Its meaning sits neatly on the two parts: a sled that bobs, or moves in quick, jolting bursts, as it races downhill. The word appears as both a noun and a verb, with the verb describing the act of riding such a sled.

Synonyms: sled