gambol - Word of the Day - 11/01/17

gambol

verb

Pronunciation

 GAM-bul

Definition

: to skip about in play : frisk, frolic

Examples

From her cabana, Candace watched her three children gambol in the ocean waves.

"… Canandaigua has now joined the list of communities … where jittery citizens have reported the appearance of scary clowns. A few instances have involved real people gamboling in public in clown suits for reasons only they understand, though many of the 'sightings' have turned out to be hoaxes or exaggerations…." — Steve Orr, Rochester (New York) Democrat and Chronicle, 4 Oct. 2016

Did You Know?

In Middle French, the noun gambade referred to the frisky spring of a jumping horse. In the early 1500s, English speakers adopted the word as gambol as both a verb and a noun. (The noun means "a skipping or leaping about in play.") The English word is not restricted to horses, but rather can be used of any frolicsome creature. It is a word that suggests levity and spontaneity, and it tends to be used especially of the lively activity of children or animals engaged in active play.

Test Your Vocabulary

Unscramble the letters to create a word for the prancing leap of a horse in which the hind legs are raised just before the forelegs touch the ground: VUTCER.

Merriam-Webster

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