gambol means an instance of running or skipping about playfully. It carries an Arena rating of 1625, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, gambol ranks #2,309 of 14,431 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,319 of 14,444 for Most Exacting Words, #2,374 of 14,451 for Most Whimsical Words, #2,382 of 14,414 for Most Elegant Words.
gambol is pronounced /ˈɡæm.bəl/.
Why “gambol” is a great word
To leap, skip, or run about in a playful, lighthearted manner. From earlier English forms gambold or gamba(u)de, derived from Middle French gambade, ultimately from Late Latin gamba or camba ("leg, hoof"), first recorded around 1495–1505. Unlike "frolic," which suggests a more general and unrestrained playfulness, or "caper," which implies a short, mischievous prank, to gambol is to enact a sustained, joyful lightness of being. It is the lamb's sudden spring in a sunlit meadow, the child's skipping shadow on a dappled path, the dog's bounding arcs upon release from its leash—the body's brief, beautiful argument against gravity, and against the coming stillness.
Etymology
From earlier gambolde, from Middle French gambade (modern gambade).
noun
- An instance of running or skipping about playfully.“Heere hung those lipps, that I haue kist I know not how oft. VVhere be your Iibes now? Your Gambals? Your Songs? Your flashes of Merriment that were wont to set the Table on a Rore?”
- An instance of more general frisking or frolicking.“There was a delicious sensation of mingled security and awe with which I looked down, from my giddy height, on the monsters of the deep at their uncouth gambols.”
verb
- To move about playfully; to frolic.“The lawn spread freely onward, as of old, over which, in sweet company, he had once gambolled.”
- To do a forward roll.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- cavort 89% match — To prance, frolic, gambol. vs gambol →
- frolic 88% match — Merry, joyous, full of mirth; later especially, frolicsome, sportive, full of playful mischief. vs gambol →
- gallivant 85% match — To roam about for pleasure without any definite plan. vs gambol →
- capriole 84% match — 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. vs gambol →
- gammock 83% match — Fun, sport, play, frolic. vs gambol →
- escapade 83% match — A daring or adventurous act; an undertaking which goes against convention. vs gambol →
- saunter 83% match — To stroll, or walk at a leisurely pace. vs gambol →
- mischief 83% match — Conduct that playfully causes petty annoyance. vs gambol →