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curvet

[noun kur-vit; verb ker-vet, kur-vit]
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noun
  1. Dressage. a leap of a horse from a rearing position, in which it springs up with the hind legs outstretched as the forelegs descend.
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verb (used without object), cur·vet·ted or cur·vet·ed, cur·vet·ting or cur·vet·ing.
  1. to leap in a curvet, as a horse; cause one's horse to do this.
  2. to leap and frisk.
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verb (used with object), cur·vet·ted or cur·vet·ed, cur·vet·ting or cur·vet·ing.
  1. to cause to make a curvet.
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Origin of curvet

1565–75; earlier curvetto < Italian corvetta < French courbette, equivalent to courb(er) to bend, curve (≪ Latin curvāre; cf. curve) + -ette -ette
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for curvet

plummet, skip, dive, drop, bound, bounce, surge, take, hop, fall, vault, top, quiver, barge, rattle, pop, hurdle, shake, trip, caper

Examples from the Web for curvet

Historical Examples of curvet

  • His eyes shone with pleasure, and he allowed his horse to curvet freely.

    Before the Dawn

    Joseph Alexander Altsheler

  • With a curvet the boat from the open rounds up at the ladder.

    Sea and Sardinia

    D. H. Lawrence

  • The others left at the post fret, and fidget, and curvet about.

  • The cavaliers compel their horses to prance and curvet as they go by some lady of especial favor.

    Life on a Mediaeval Barony

    William Stearns Davis

  • Next follows the curvet, which is performed by throwing the body suddenly backwards until the hands touch the ground.

British Dictionary definitions for curvet

curvet

noun
  1. dressage a low leap with all four feet off the ground
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verb -vets, -vetting, -vetted, -vets, -veting or -veted
  1. dressage to make or cause to make such a leap
  2. (intr) to prance or frisk about
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Word Origin for curvet

C16: from Old Italian corvetta, from Old French courbette, from courber to bend, from Latin curvāre
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