capriole

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French capriole, from Italian capriola.

Noun

capriole (plural caprioles)

1. A leap that a horse makes with all fours, upwards only, without advancing, but with a kick or jerk of the hind legs when at the height of the leap.
2. A leap or caper, as in dancing.
   • 1595, John Davies, Orchestra:

     With lofty turns and caprioles.

   • 1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], chapter 3, in Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], →OCLC:

     When Dandy Dinmont, after executing two or three caprioles, and cutting the Highland-fling, by way of ridicule of his wife's anxiety, at last deigned to sit down, and commit his round, black, shaggy bullet of a head to her inspection.

Verb

capriole (third-person singular simple present caprioles, present participle caprioling, simple past and past participle caprioled)

1. (intransitive) To leap; to caper.
2. (transitive) To cause (one's mounted horse) to perform a capriole.
   • 1838, Thomas Carlyle, Sir Walter Scott:

     Brawny fighters, all cased in buff and iron, their hearts too sheathed in oak and triple brass, caprioled their huge war-horses, shook their death-doing spears; and went forth in the most determined manner, nothing doubting.

Anagrams

• polar ice

French

Noun

capriole f (plural caprioles)

1. (dressage) Dated form of cabriole.

Italian

Noun

capriole f

1. plural of capriola

Anagrams

• copiarle, percolai, pericola, piacerlo