We have the snowy country of Norway to thank for exporting the sport of skiing, and with it its terminology. As the only practical method of transport during the snowbound months, skiing developed very early in Norway. In fact, a rock carving in Norway depicting two men on skis has been dated back to 2000 B.C, say editors at Merriam Webster Inc.
The word "ski," however, did not enter the English language until 1755. It came directly from Norwegian, in which it is derived from the Old Norse word "skith," meaning "stick of wood, ski.""Telemark" is also a Norwegian word and comes from the name of a region in southern Norway. It means "a turn in skiing in which the outside ski is advance considerably ahead of the other ski and then turned inward at a steadily widening angle until the turn is completed." "Telemark" is first attested in English in 1904.
"Slalom," which denotes "skiing in a zigzag or wavy course between upright obstacles," came to English in 1921 from the Norwegian "slalam." The literal meaning of the Norwegian word is "sloping track."
A "christie" is a skiing turn that is executed, usually at a high speed, by shifting the body weight forward and skidding into a turn with parallel skis. The word "christie" is a shortened and altered form of the earlier "christiania." The two words were first recorded in English at different times: "christie" in 1925, and "christiana" in 1905. The turn was named after the Norwegian city of Christiania, now known as Oslo.
the Norwegian city of Christiania, now known as Oslo.