Freefallers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals who partake in falling from a height without the use of any safety mechanisms or enclosures
2. Participants in a phenomenon marked by rapid descent through the air, experiencing a brief period of weightlessness
3. Those who drop through the air without support or restraint, typically experiencing a sensation of floating

Etymology: "Freefallers" is simply the plural of "freefaller," which is itself a compound built from "freefall" and the agentive suffix "-er," meaning one who does the action. "Freefall" in turn joins "free," in the sense of unrestrained or unsupported, with "fall," the downward movement of a body under gravity. Put together, the literal picture is of a person or object whose descent is unchecked by any support. The source also allows an alternative reading: "freefaller" may come from "free" plus "faller," with "faller" being one who falls. Either way, the two pieces are ordinary English words, so the term reads transparently and needed no special coinage or borrowing to form.