I. jimˈnastik, -aas-, -tēk adjective
also gym·nas·ti·cal -tə̇kəl, -tēk-
Etymology: Middle French or Latin; Middle French gymnastique, from Latin gymnasticus, from Greek gymnastikos, from (assumed) gymnastos (verbal of gymnazein to train naked) + -ikos -ic
: of or relating to gymnastics : athletic
• gym·nas·ti·cal·ly -tə̇k(ə)lē, -tēk-, -li adverb
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French gymnastique, from Greek gymnastikē, from feminine of gymnastikos
1.
a. : physical exercise
good gymnastic which will give health to the body — Benjamin Jowett
especially : exercise that consists of calisthenics and performance on apparatus (as rings, bars) and is designed to promote strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and body control — now usually used in plural
gymnastics have become one of the institutions of the country — James Grant
b. gymnastics plural but singular in construction : the art or practice of such exercise
modern apparatus gymnastics was founded in the early 19th century — Time
2. : something resembling gymnastics ; especially : an exercise in intellectual or artistic dexterity
my earlier philosophic study had been an intellectual gymnastic — John Dewey
the pleasure that is derived from sheer mental gymnastics — Carlos Lynes
3. : a physical feat, exercise, or contortion
like a … wrestler about to embark upon some inexplicable gymnastic — Gordon Sager
the gymnastics necessary for the killer to have swung from the fire escape — E.D.Radin