Etymology
1. c.1300, "to perform as an acrobat," also "to fall down," perhaps from a frequentative form of O.E.
tumbian "dance about," of unknown origin. Related to M.L.G.
tummelen "to turn, dance," Du.
tuimelen "to tumble," O.H.G.
tumon, Ger.
taumeln "to turn, reel." The noun is recorded from 1716.
Tumble-down (1791) originally meant "habitually falling down" and was used first of horses; sense of "in a dilapidated condition" is recorded from 1818.
Tumble-weed is attested from 1887.
2. From Middle English tumblen (“to fall over and over again, tumble”), frequentative of Middle English tumben (“to fall, leap, dance”), from Old English tumbian, from Proto-West Germanic *tumbōn, tūmōn, from Proto-Germanic *tumbōną, tūmōną (“to turn, rotate”). Cognate with Middle Dutch tumelen (whence Dutch tuimelen), Middle Low German tumelen, tummelen, German taumeln, Danish tumle, Swedish tumla, tumbla (“to tumble”), Faroese tumla, tumbla (“to walk heavily and noisily, stagger”). See: Middle English '
tumblen', Middle English '
tumben', Old English '
tumbian', Proto-Germanic '
*tūmōną', Dutch '
tuimelen', German, old spelling '
taumeln', Danish '
tumle', Swedish '
tumla', Faroese '
tumla'.
Verbs referencing "tumble"
German, old spelling
taumeln.