/ˈkəːvᵻtɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈkərvədɪŋ/. curvettingn.
/kəːˈvɛtɪŋ/, U.S. /kərˈvɛdɪŋ//ˈkəːvᵻtɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈkərvədɪŋ/. The action of curvet v.; capering, prancing; an instance of this. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > habits and actions of horse > [noun] > leap > leaping or prancing
gambolling1525
curvetting1584
career1587
pranker1628
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > special movements performed by trained horse > [noun] > types of jump > curvet
curvet1566
curvetting1584
courbettea1648
pannade1656
1584 T. Bedingfield tr. C. Corte Art of Riding xv. 53 Much coruetting brooseth both the horsse and rider.
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary i. ii. iv. 179 Euer after hee was..very troublesome to me, with neighing and coruetting, when soeuer he passed by any mares.
1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. T. Boccalini Ragguagli di Parnasso ii. xiv. 241 The corveting and dancing of four-footed beasts.
1756 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. I. 96 In travelling they perform all the paces and curvettings of the manage.
1786 S. Henley tr. W. Beckford Arabian Tale 96 The unwieldy curvetting of these poor beasts.
1840 R. H. Barham Witches' Frolic in Ingoldsby Legends 1st Ser. 167 Such lofty curvetting, And grand pirouetting.
1891 F. W. Gunsaulus Monk & Knight I. xxxiii. 357 Henry VIII. rode away..displaying his skill as a horseman in curvetings and other exhibitions of grace and mastery.
1958 Times 20 Dec. 3/6 For all their spirited curvetting and stamping they answer to the lightest touch of the rein.
1990 Victorian Poetry 28 178 Being firmly seated in the saddle of metrics and syntax, he can afford extraordinary gambols and curvetings without lowering his status to that of mere stunt rider.
2014 Observer (Nexis) 21 Dec. Mermaids who..are reduced to a ponderous wobbling and floundering that is the antithesis of the joyous curvetting that we associate with the species.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
curvettingadj.
/kəːˈvɛtɪŋ/, U.S. /kərˈvɛdɪŋ//ˈkəːvᵻtɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈkərvədɪŋ/. That curvets; capering, prancing. Also (and in earliest use) figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > habits and actions of horse > [adjective] > leaping or prancing
gambolling1538
curvetting1598
caprioling1628
leaping1667
jauncing1792
1598 J. Marston Scourge of Villanie iii. x. sig. H5v His very intelect Is naught but a curuetting Sommerset.
1622 T. May Heire ii. sig. C3v My pleased eye beheld This youthfull Gallant as he rode the streete, On a coruetting Courser.
1750 J. Wesley Wks. (1872) II. 185 A fine curvetting horse.
1799 W. Scott tr. J. W. von Goethe Goetz of Berlichingen ii. 66 He sate the curvetting steed with an easy indifference.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 490 Rushed through the drawn swords and curvetting horses.
1878 M. A. Brown tr. J. L. Runeberg Nadeschda 25 On his curveting charger's back.
1913 V. E. Roe Heart of Night Wind xi. 120 She held the magnificent animal in to a curvetting gait that brought the sweat out upon his shining flanks.
1978 Financial Times 19 Aug. 10/3 There is one moment of genuine dance invention, the curvetting entrance of the male chorus as a school of dolphins.
2007 E. Bridges et al. Cultural Responses to Persian Wars i. 20 Themistocles himself in the painting resembles Boulanger on his famous curvetting horse.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1584adj.1598