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

Words nearby curvet

curvature of space, curve, curveball, curve fitting, curve of occlusion, curvet, curvette, curvilinear, curvilinear coordinate system, curvilinear tracery, curvy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use curvet in a sentence

With one bound he was in the saddle, made his horse curvet, and hid himself behind the enormous stem of the mahogany tree.
The Border Rifles|Gustave Aimard
By so doing, the mouth of the horse receives a jerk which seldom fails to make it rear and curvet from side to side.
The Frontier Fort|W. H. G. Kingston
I knew that he made the pony curvet because I liked it; and presently my grandmother discovered that and took me away.
The Story of Bawn|Katharine Tynan
When the local was still far behind she would begin to curvet and take the bit between her teeth.
The Biography of a Prairie Girl|Eleanor Gates

At this the hector sprang to his feet and mounted his grey charger, which he caused to prance and curvet across the field.
Hero Tales and Legends of the Serbians|Woislav M. Petrovitch

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

curvet

Origin of curvet

Words nearby curvet

Words related to curvet

How to use curvet in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for curvet

Word Origin for curvet