coltish
Americanadjective
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playful; frolicsome.
-
of, relating to, or resembling a colt.
-
not trained or disciplined; unruly; wild.
adjective
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inexperienced; unruly
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playful and lively
Other Word Forms
- coltishly adverb
- coltishness noun
Etymology
Origin of coltish
Explanation
An energetic, playful person can be described as coltish. A coltish preschooler might skip happily across the room and then slide to a stop in her socks. There's something a little young and awkward implied in the word coltish, which arose in the 14th century from the sense of a colt, or young horse, as a lively, frolicking, long-legged creature. Skinny-legged teenagers dashing around a mall are coltish, and a soccer team of five year-olds is made up of happy, coltish players.
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.
One of the youngsters was a coltish winger from Carmagnola, a pretty market town just south of Turin.
From BBC • Apr. 3, 2023
And those girls are indeed a light: Sidney and Singleton show giggly chemistry as sisters and coltish joy on the tennis courts.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 16, 2021
Ramirez muttered and sighed as the teens, with their baby faces and coltish bodies, bumbled a run-through.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 20, 2019
No, it’s the coltish arms and legs gaining proficiency in the vocabulary of Nureyev and Baryshnikov that define “Billy Elliot’s” compelling core.
From Washington Post • Nov. 8, 2018
Velia pushed Pita toward me and got up to stretch her long, coltish legs.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
