cavort means to prance, frolic, gambol. It carries an Arena rating of 1765, earned across 20 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, cavort ranks #537 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #918 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #1,871 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #2,085 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words.
cavort is pronounced /kəˈvɔːt/.
Why “cavort” is a great word
To leap, prance, or frolic about in a lively, playful, or boisterous manner. Of uncertain origin; likely an American English alteration of 'curvet' (a horse's leap) or from an intensifying prefix 'ca-' + 'vault' (to jump). First attested in the U.S. around 1793 in the form 'cauvaut', applied to horses. Unlike gambol, which skips with innocent lightness, or romp, which implies rough-and-tumble noise, cavort is all about the arched, deliberate spring—the showy capriole of a stallion in a meadow, the unrestrained, heel-kicking dance of a reveler lost in music, or the theatrical, bounding greeting of a dog convinced its person is the sun. It is joy made kinetic, a rebellion against gravity and gravitas.
Etymology
Originated in the United States in 1793, as cauvaut, applying to horses, probably from the colloquial intensifying prefix ca-/ka- + vault (“jump, leap”); later generalized. Early sources connect it to cavault, a term for a certain demeanor of horses. Alternatively, a variation of curvet.
verb
- To prance, frolic, gambol.e.g.“[…] when the young man whirled his horse, “hazed” Jupiter in circles and belaboured him with a rawhide quirt, […] He ceased his cavortings […]” — 1920, Peter B. Kyne, chapter I, in The Understanding Heart:
- To move about carelessly, playfully or boisterously.e.g.“And dragon-flies sported around and cavorted, / As poets say dragon-flies ought to do; […]” — 1900, Guy Wetmore Carryl, “The Embarrassing Episode of Little Miss Muffet”, in Mother Goose for Grownups:
- To engage in extravagant pursuits, especially of a sexual nature.e.g.“As he moves back into the shadows, the stage is taken over by a troupe of Pan-like dancers, leaping and cavorting in an obscene ballet.” — 1965, Attila Zohar, Kings Cross Black Magic, Sydney: Horwitz Publications, page 94:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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