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caracole

[kar-uh-kohl]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR caracole ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a half turn executed by a horse and rider.
Rare. a winding staircase.

verb (used without object), car·a·coled, car·a·col·ing.

to execute caracoles; wheel.

RELATED WORDS

gambol, romp, caper, play, rollick, dance, roughhouse, revel, frisk, sport, horseplay

Origin of caracole

1650–60; < French < Spanish caracol snail, spiral shell or stair, turning movement (of a horse)
Related formscar·a·col·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for caracole

Historical Examples of caracole

  • The horse of one of these cavaliers made a caracole which brought it nearly upon Alain as he was about to cross.

    The Parisians, Complete

    Edward Bulwer-Lytton

  • When she found herself alone, she let her pony prance and caracole under a great pear-tree, and inwardly chafed against Anton.

    Debit and Credit

    Gustav Freytag

British Dictionary definitions for caracole

caracole

caracol (ˈkærəˌkɒl)

noun

dressage a half turn to the right or left
a spiral staircase

verb (intr)

dressage to execute a half turn to the right or left

Word Origin for caracole

C17: from French, from Spanish caracol snail, spiral staircase, turn
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012