Gambol means to skip or frolic playfully, adopted from a French term for a horse's leap.
To gambol is to skip about in play, like frisking or frolicking. It was adopted into English from Middle French 'gambade,' referring to the frisky spring of a horse.
| Word | gambol |
|---|---|
| Date | January 11, 2017 |
| Type | verb |
| Syllables | GAM-bul |
| Etymology | 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. |
| 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 |
| Definition | : to skip about in play : frisk, frolic |
Tags: wordoftheday::verb
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