cabriole

American  

[kab-ree-ohl, ka-bree-awl] / ˈkæb riˌoʊl, ka briˈɔl /

noun

cabrioles plural

1. Furniture. a curved, tapering leg curving outward at the top and inward farther down so as to end in a round pad, the semblance of an animal's paw, or some other feature: used especially in the first half of the 18th century.

2. Ballet. a leap in which one leg is raised in the air and the other is brought up to beat against it.

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cabriole British  

/ ˈkæbrɪˌəʊl /

noun

1. Also called: cabriole leg.  a type of furniture leg, popular in the first half of the 18th century, in which an upper convex curve descends tapering to a concave curve

2. ballet a leap in the air with one leg outstretched and the other beating against it

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Etymology

Origin of cabriole

1775–85; < French: leap, caper; so called because modeled on leg of a capering animal ( see capriole); b by influence of cabri kid (≪ Old Provençal ) and kindred words

Example Sentences

The simple set, by the collective dots, features a purple-lacquered dining table and chairs with cabriole legs; flowers in sconces; and soft green walls.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025

“They don’t bear specific style characteristics that date them, like cabriole legs or acanthus leaves,” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Aug. 20, 2015

Its attenuated cabriole legs, delicate swags, and flowering-urn ornamentation reference the Louis XV period, but the diminutive artifact is surfaced in then-fashion-forward shagreen and ebony.

From Architectural Digest • Aug. 27, 2014

The late-18th-century unsigned piece, made of cherry and tulip poplar, has bellflower and scallop inlays and flared cabriole supports that scholars call “bandy legs.”

From New York Times • Dec. 6, 2012

Louis XV legs show a curve, also, but no longer the stoggy, squat cabriole of the over-fed gallant.

From The Art of Interior Decoration by Wood, Grace