Standard Lemma guide

siteswap

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

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Pronunciation

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  • /ˈsaɪt.swɒp/

1

noun

Meaning 1

A numerical notation used to describe juggling patterns, where each number represents the height and direction of a throw.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A specific notation for a pattern.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From site + swap. The term first appears in a Summer 1991 Juggler's World article, "A Notation for Juggling Tricks" by Bruce (Boppo) Tiemann and Bengt Magnusson: : If the juggler is thought of as juggling imaginary sites where the balls could be, as he does these tricks, which ball lands in which site is different from trick to trick. For this reason, we call these tricks "site-swaps." The number of sites is equal to the word length, and may be different from the number of balls actually being juggled.