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curvet

[ noun kur-vit; verb ker-vet, kur-vit ]
/ noun ˈkɜr vɪt; verb kərˈvɛt, ˈkɜr vɪt /
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noun
Dressage. a leap of a horse from a rearing position, in which it springs up with the hind legs outstretched as the forelegs descend.
verb (used without object), cur·vet·ted or cur·vet·ed, cur·vet·ting or cur·vet·ing.
to leap in a curvet, as a horse; cause one's horse to do this.
to leap and frisk.
verb (used with object), cur·vet·ted or cur·vet·ed, cur·vet·ting or cur·vet·ing.
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. 2023

How to use curvet in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for curvet

curvet
/ (kɜːˈvɛt) /

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

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
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