caracole
Americannoun
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caracoles
plural
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a half turn executed by a horse and rider.
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Rare. a winding staircase.
verb (used without object)
noun
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dressage a half turn to the right or left
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a spiral staircase
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of caracole
1650–60; < French < Spanish caracol snail, spiral shell or stair, turning movement (of a horse)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He began to rear and caracole as if he were about to suffer transformation into a colt.
From Time Magazine Archive
The crude might of the queen was transformed into refined power, restrained and directed by a system of sparkling levers; the pawns grew cleverer; the knights stepped forth with a Spanish caracole .
From Time Magazine Archive
The victorious knight made his horse caracole before the king, and bowed low in his saddle.
From Rolling Stones by O. Henry
Leap -- N. leap, jump, hop, spring, bound, vault, saltation†. ance, caper; curvet, caracole; gambade†, gambado†; capriole, demivolt†; buck, buck jump; hop skip and jump; falcade†. kangaroo, jerboa; chamois, goat, frog, grasshopper, flea; buckjumper†; wallaby.
From Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases by Peter Mark Roget
"Here is a brave victory," snorted Von Donck; and he gave vent to his delight by turning a caracole upon the forehead of the giant.
From The Plowshare and the Sword A Tale of Old Quebec by John Trevena
The waiter prodded the table to try caracoles, or snails, eaten by pushing a toothpick into the shell and dragging out the body.
From New York Times ● Jul. 15, 2011
But for $20 she swindled out of the warden as she was leaving her latest penitentiary she is penniless, but she caracoles into town as the Countess of Auburn.
From Time Magazine Archive
Fialin had the arrogant air of a man who caracoles before a crime.
From The History of a Crime The Testimony of an Eye-Witness by Victor Hugo
He then mounts his horse, caracoles about, brandishing his lance, and afterwards in the courtyard he repeats the performances before the people ever eager to take part in the spectacle.
From English Villages by P. H. (Peter Hampson) Ditchfield
The market-lady caracoles around, and leads Browne to infer that his conduct is not approved, from her festooning that gentleman's eyes with heavy lines of crape.
From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 12, No. 31, October, 1873 by Various
In front of it, as the week went on, a thousand horses paraded, galloped, caracoled — black and grey, hunter and hackney, carriage-horse and teamster.
From Time Magazine Archive
Above Beirut's Place des Canons last week R.A.F. planes roared and caracoled.
From Time Magazine Archive
Shadow’s mount caracoled away from it, and Shadow stroked its neck and told it not to be afraid.
From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
A burst of deafening applause came from the multitude as the marshal rode through the gateway of Ely House, and caracoled over the Holborn way on the finest charger that the king's stables could furnish.
From A Book About Lawyers by John Cordy Jeaffreson
At the head of it rode Fanfaronade himself upon a white horse, which pranced and caracoled to the sound of the trumpets.
From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
Of many existing causes for alarm, one minor one has been Author Louis Golding's caracoling cleverness, which has frightened away more than a few cautious readers.
From Time Magazine Archive
Prancing, caracoling or stiffly reined in, they constitute a lexicon of equine movement that Western art could hardly rival for another 1400 years.
From Time Magazine Archive
We found this select society caracoling round the booth in a thundering galop, on first going in.
From In the Days of My Youth by Amelia Ann Blanford Edwards
Any fool could see that his caracoling was funny.
From Mr. Waddington of Wyck by May Sinclair
Regie came dancing and caracoling round the corner.
From Red Pottage by Mary Cholmondeley
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