A somersault (also flip, heli, etc., from the obsolete French word sombresault, Occitan sobresaut; and Latin - supra, over, and saltus, jump, and in gymnastics a Salto) is an acrobatic exercise in which a person's body rotates 360° around a horizontal axis with the feet passing over the head. A somersault can be performed either forwards, backwards, or sideways and can be executed in the air or on the ground. When performed on the ground it is typically called a roll.