curvet

American  

[kur-vit, ker-vet, kur-vit] / ˈkɜr vɪt, kərˈvɛt, ˈkɜr vɪt /

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)

curvetted, curveted, curvetting, curveting

1. to leap in a curvet, as a horse; cause one's horse to do this.

2. to leap and frisk.

verb (used with object)

curvetted, curveted, curvetting, curveting

1. to cause to make a curvet.

curvet British  

/ kɜːˈvɛt /

noun

1. dressage a low leap with all four feet off the ground

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verb

1. dressage to make or cause to make such a leap

2. (intr) to prance or frisk about

Etymology

Origin of curvet

1565–75; earlier curvetto < Italian corvetta < French courbette, equivalent to courb(er) to bend, curve (≪ Latin curvāre; curve ) + -ette -ette ( def. )

Example Sentences

Tigers walk treadmills, horses curvet superbly and Harry Rittely sits atop seven tables and topples over backwards.

From Time Magazine Archive

Elizabeth's Winston, pestered by a swarm of thunder flies, began to curvet alarmingly.

From Time Magazine Archive

Surreptitiously goaded by the spur, their steeds plunge and curvet, apparently progressing at a rapid pace, but in reality gaining little ground.

From The Flag of Distress A Story of the South Sea by Reid, Mayne

When my bright scabbard bounded by thy side, And shouts of victory our toils repaid, The stately curvet, and the pacing stride, None of our troops so gracefully displayed.

From The Mirror of Taste, and Dramatic Censor, Vol. I, No. 6, June 1810 by Carpenter, S. C. (Stephen Cullen)

To display his skill before the ladies, he set spurs to his horse, making it bound and curvet "as valiantly as any man could do."

From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 09 by Johnson, Rossiter

Related Words

• bounce
• bound
• dive
• drop
• fall
• hop
• plummet
• skip
• surge
• take
• top
• vault