gambol
/ˈɡamb(ə)l
/verb (gambols, gambolling, gambolled; US gambols, gamboling, gamboled) [no object, usually with adverbial]
Run or jump about playfully: the mare gambolled towards Constance...
- While monster-hunting on this far-flung island's shores in 1998, I was enthralled to see otters gambolling playfully in the sand dunes.
- We gambolled and frolicked until about four-thirty am.
- So while my fellow geeks gamboled and romped and played in the hotel lobby - within the warm and nurturing hug of the conference's bubble of wireless broadband access - I was alone in my room doing email.
Synonyms
frolic, frisk, cavort, caper, skip, dance, romp, prance, leap, hop, jump, spring, bound, bounce;
play
dated sport
rare rollick, curvet, capriole
noun
An act of running or jumping about playfully: the two of them run off to the woods for a gambol together...
- Compared to today, Monday qualified as a carefree gambol around Disneyland.
- The draw has brought the inevitable return of him for a last gambol around Highbury and if they emulate Liverpool in dismissing Juve in the quarters, then they may face Inter followed by Barca or AC Milan in the final.
- Dogs of decent size need a romp - a flat-out run, a gambol in a field or forest, a chance to splash in running water.
Origin
Early 16th century: alteration of gambade (see gambado1), via French from Italian gambata 'trip up', from gamba 'leg'.